Total Immersion and the newbie...

This may be like a really bad thing to do, but I need to tell the NEWBIES who lurk about TI. TI (Total Immersion) is not, I believe and I maybe wrong, intended to attract seasoned swimmers. I'm sure everyone could use a lil tweaking, no matter how long you've been swimming. I started swimming in June this year, well, learning to swim freestyle. Something I've ALWAYS wanted to do. I've always just swam like I was in a lake...headup. Well, life has been in the way of learning freestyle. I got a new job with better hours, kids older, I turned 44 and jumped in at my local Y. Took a few lessons from an overzealous punk who was literally telling me to "swim like I was gonna die". I walked outta the pool on him and a few weeks later, I ran into the Total Immersion technique. In ONE drill folks, ONE DRILLL, the first one, I was able to swim just a single lap without stopping. Why?? I learned to "hide my head." My head had really been up and I didn't know it. After hiding my head where just a sliver of water runs over it, guess what: My BUTT FLOATED UP! I had been practicing with a pool buoy for weeks to get my butt up. Once I learned to align myself right, have a steady balance facedown and learn to "swim downhill" perse, I didn't have to kick so hard to keep my butt up, which kept my heartrate down and endurance up. I'm on the third set of drills which work on strickly balance. Side balance to be exact. I drill and swim some laps. The drills get redundant and can be frustrating, especially going it alone. I have a coach buddy who helps me. This stuff really works for someone who wants to just be a proficient swimmer. I'm not sure what the end of the book holds. I'm not sure about who it's designed for. I AM sure that it is designed for swimmers who want to comfortably swim and have fun. Don't get me wrong, I'm not good yet. But I came from coming home in June and sticking my head in a bucket of water to blow out of my nose and mouth to now. I'm comfortable in the water, I can swim a couple of laps witout stopping, my kick is better, more fishlike. I drill 3 mornings a week and lap swim/balance the other two. I am working on side balance without arms and finding my "sweet spot" to roll to. My breathing is really good, but not bilateral yet. I've even graduated to buying myself some jammers to swim in. I dream about swimming, literally. Total Immersion has given me insight, confidence and ability to learn to do the thing I dream about. Total Immersion takes patience and practice. There is definatly no water-warrior feeling of *insert coach voice (SWIM LIKE YOUR GONNA DIE!!) I know some of you don't care for TI. I understand and respect that. It's all good. My intention with this post is to give hope to some other 44 year old people out there who don't know what to do or where to go to be able to do the things they dream about. Mark