Debby
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summer swimming
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My last two days have had a pretty good ratio of relaxation to stress. We started swim lessons at the pool near my mom's house. So, every day the kids and I drive to my mom's about 15 minutes away, get the kids into their swim suits and sunscreen, and walk down to the pool. Then it gets dicey.
Monday went beautifully. For the first time, David got in the pool with me willingly and had his swim lesson. He learned how to hold onto the side and move himself along, a great skill.
Today, he freaked out and whined for half an hour before we got in the pool. Cajoling, coaxing, bribing, and reasoning with him while trying to figure out what the real problem was—food, fear, too hot, sun too bright—that was a heavy dose of stress.
But after 10 minutes in the pool everything smoothed out again and we had fun. The rest of both days was a coast, and I don't often have coasts. There's just been a major shift. It used to be getting lunch on the table post swimming was insane, scrambling to throw the cheesy rice in the microwave while getting hungry children in and out of the shower. Now, they pretty much can shower on their own. Yesterday, I started the bath water, then David and Ariana got in, turned the water off themselves, played, decided when they were done, let the bath water out, got out of the tub, dried off, and got dressed ALL BY THEMSELVES. Life is a lot easier if you aren't running back and forth to the calls of "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" every two minutes.
The rest of the days was the kids playing downstairs BY THEMSELVES while I took a nap and hanging out at the swimming pool with them in the afternoon. I mean, yes, Rose got a bloody nose in the pool one day and started to have a fit about who got which swim suit the other, but it didn't phase me. David is still mighty nervous about getting in the pool, but he had another first today, lying back with his ears in the water.
It doesn't hurt that I'm doing this parenting as a team with my mom and sister and the weather has been glorious, but that's been true previous years. It just is getting easier.
Monday went beautifully. For the first time, David got in the pool with me willingly and had his swim lesson. He learned how to hold onto the side and move himself along, a great skill.
Today, he freaked out and whined for half an hour before we got in the pool. Cajoling, coaxing, bribing, and reasoning with him while trying to figure out what the real problem was—food, fear, too hot, sun too bright—that was a heavy dose of stress.
But after 10 minutes in the pool everything smoothed out again and we had fun. The rest of both days was a coast, and I don't often have coasts. There's just been a major shift. It used to be getting lunch on the table post swimming was insane, scrambling to throw the cheesy rice in the microwave while getting hungry children in and out of the shower. Now, they pretty much can shower on their own. Yesterday, I started the bath water, then David and Ariana got in, turned the water off themselves, played, decided when they were done, let the bath water out, got out of the tub, dried off, and got dressed ALL BY THEMSELVES. Life is a lot easier if you aren't running back and forth to the calls of "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" every two minutes.
The rest of the days was the kids playing downstairs BY THEMSELVES while I took a nap and hanging out at the swimming pool with them in the afternoon. I mean, yes, Rose got a bloody nose in the pool one day and started to have a fit about who got which swim suit the other, but it didn't phase me. David is still mighty nervous about getting in the pool, but he had another first today, lying back with his ears in the water.
It doesn't hurt that I'm doing this parenting as a team with my mom and sister and the weather has been glorious, but that's been true previous years. It just is getting easier.
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