Tag: pool

humor, motherhood

Any Day Now

WFAM

There are two important characteristics to look for in friendship.  The first being pool ownership.  The second, and most critical, is this friend allows you full use of their pool if they have to travel.

Let’s just say, I have some of the best friends in all of Texas.

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The key to surviving any competitive endeavor in this family whether pool related or not, is to make sure Mad Dog is always on your team.  He is a natural-born strategist and the king of trash talk.  However, the boys having learned from the best, are now able to verbally spar on his level.

It’s a whole lot of nonsense if you ask me, but apparently the secret ‘man-formula’ to showing respect is hurling insults at one another at a top-rate speed.  Full Speed especially enjoys targeting me.  If you were a betting kind of person, you might guess it’s because I am the most reactive of our bunch. I can’t speak to this specifically but I am crying right now as I type this.

Pool volleyball is no exception. Mad Dog and I happened to win our first round of games versus the boys.  We had to work for it.  As we sat around poolside dissecting various aspects of the game, T.Puzzle remained surprisingly unfazed by the loss.  Normally, he would brood and mope leaving the whole outing in ruins because he did not win.

“That means you are growing up, when you can lose and still say you are had a fun day at the pool,” Mad Dog said.

At what age does this happen you may wonder?

Well, Mad Dog is turning forty-nine this year…

I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

children, gratitude, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery

Watch and Learn

WFAM

I had taken the boys to the pool and sat back and watched as they energetically tackled the slide and sprinklers.  At the top of the slide are two attached water cannons.  When the slide gets crowded these cannons become quite popular.  A boy a good head taller approached T.Puzzle and attempted to yank the cannon from T.Puzzle’s grip.  I had to coach myself to stay put and let it unfold.  As much as I wanted to leap to his rescue I decided to see how T.Puzzle would handle it.  Turns out years of assertiveness training from his older brother paid off.  T.Puzzle stood his ground and as the older boy continued to try to intimidate him with words and a few swings of his arms, T.Puzzle didn’t budge.

I learned a valuable lesson.  The minute you stop trying to control something, especially the behavior or circumstances of your children, these are the moments when they begin to show you who they really are.  If you are really lucky they may show you something unexpected.  They may show you that bullies are only as powerful as you allow them to be and sometimes a four year old can handle a confrontation without hesitation.  That’s when you realize maybe you need to start taking notes from your kids instead of always insisting on being the one who is teaching.

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

A Really Good Week

WFAM

While Full Speed has been honing his basketball skills at camp this week, T.Puzzle and I have spent much quality time together.  T.Puzzle didn’t make the age requirement for camp so I tried to plan some special things for him and me to do.  Here’s the breakdown along with T.Puzzle’s assessment of the each day:

Monday- Chik-fil-a lunch and play time at the indoor playground

T.Puzzle said, “Monday is a very good day!”

Tuesday- Storytime at the library concluded with an art project

T.Puzzle said, “It was probably a little bit good.”  Apparently the quiet sitting and the craftiness were not truly his thing.

Wednesday- Pool time along with pizza from the Tiki Shack

T.Puzzle said, “This is probably a very awesome day!”

Thursday- bike ride to the park and playing hide and seek with Mom

T.Puzzle said, “I’m getting boring (referring to his boredom over the bike ride), when are we gonna be there?”  As for the rest he highly enjoyed himself.  Here’s a video of him ‘sharing’ a goldfish (his favorite snack) with his Dad.

Friday- We had to stick around home as the laundry situation had reached emergency status.  While Mom tackled the laundry problem, there was still time to read some books together.

T.Puzzle said, “Friday was a really good day.”

I completely agree, except for the laundry part of course.

children, eyesight, gratitude, humor, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

A Lesson in Swimming

WFAM

We finished soccer just in the nick of time to start swim lessons.  Apparently there is no rest for the weary in our household.

I wasn’t sure how these lessons would go.  Full Speed is old enough and adapts well so I figured he would be okay.  I was more worried about T.Puzzle especially once the instructor confirmed the boys would not be allowed to wear their glasses in the pool.  This did not sit well with me.  I know it is necessary and I’m all about deferring to the instructor.  She has been doing this for years and I have to help her establish that what she says is the law.

Everything went smoothly with Full Speed except that he was a freezing, chattering mess by the end.  T.Puzzle was a different story.  He melted down early and often.  It was hard to sit and watch.  I had to resist the urge to jump fully clothed into the pool and rescue him.  Eventually, the instructor got him calm and he slowly began to overcome his fear.  By the end of the lesson he was determined to do whatever she asked of him and do it better than his brother had.  Sibling rivalry in this instance was a beautiful thing.

Full Speed looks on as T.Puzzle practices how to get safely out of the pool.

By watching T.Puzzle work through his fear I realized something.  If T.Puzzle can conquer a pool without glasses, he is going to be ready for anything life throws at him.

Except maybe his overprotective Mom hurtling herself towards him if he ever goes anywhere near the deep end of the pool.

Being brave is tiring