The verdict

Kendyl made the 75-ish minute trip up to Evanston today to teach me how to swim! YAY!
We talked a lot about breaking down the freestyle stroke. Some I knew, some I didn't. Still, here is the breakdown.
Components:
The reach - making sure you not only put your hand in the water, but reach out a little before you start pulling back
The pull - after you reach, begin bending a bit at the elbow. Your hand takes almost an hourglass shaped path as it pulls in close to your body then push back down to your hip. This is where you are literally pushing the water out of your way. Your fingers really need to be closed!
- The back half of your stroke is super important. After you get to your waist, you want to continue pushing the water all the way to your thigh. Once your arm is fully extended you put a little extra effort in to flick the water away from your hip.
The recovery - So your arm is fully extended and it may feel a tad awkward, but you must immediately bend your elbow and pull your hand up, almost to your armpit ... then extend ahead of you and it starts all over again.

Swimming 101. I needed that.