Tuesday, July 31

A Wonderful Summer Day

First, just wanted to say thanks to those of you that let me know you were reading. It's nice to hear from you and to get feedback :)

Today, the kids and I spent a few hours down at a real, live swimming hole close to the border of our state, about 40 miles from home. We met some other homeschooling families there and really enjoyed ourselves.

Swimming lessons paid off for DS, as he was much more comfortable in the water, walking around with a swim ring and a net, catching tiny fish and kicking around some in the water, completely at ease. This time last year, I couldn't convince him to trust a noodle or such to help him at all.

However, I was having trouble convincing DS not to eat the little tiny fish (1/4 inch long or so) that he caught. He did eat several before I convinced him that they might make him sick (who knows?). At first, when I said it was gross, that just made it more attractive to him. He'd laugh and do it more *sigh*

We did have to be careful because the bottom was rocky and slippery (we remembered to bring our swim shoes--we visited the same place a couple of years ago), and it dropped off suddenly in spots but fun all the same. There were some rocks that you could climb onto and jump off of from 10 feet up or so. I saw a pair of adults doing this (not to mention numerous kids and teens), and they jumped and went pretty far under. Who knows how deep it was there? It just created the ultimate vision of "down-home" summer fun in my head. Memories to last a lifetime.

The only trouble we really had were with DD, although nothing serious. First, I forgot my sling, so I had to carry her around almost the whole time (3 hours). My arm started to get crampy, but when I put her down on the blanket, she'd just try to eat everything (leaves, grass, whatever) that she could get her hands on. Typical for her age (almost 9 months). Also, she developed a rash. This has happened several times over the last 3 days and comes and goes. After doing some Internet research, I think it may be "sun rash." It's more common in folks with pale skin and red hair (that's her). We'll see if it persists.

A good day overall, with a healthy feeling of tiredness at the end!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It has been the same with my DS: Last year he was scared and uncomfortable in the water; this year, after we bought an above ground pool 8' wide he's much more at ease with putting his head under water and swims with his floatie on. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that I could go to the community pool with him alone in the evening (kicking myself for wasting TWO MONTHS!) but that's where the kiddy pool training is now evident. I wonder if you and I aren't both too easily worried about what our almost 7yo 'should' be doing and be comfortable with at this age. But it feels good to give them the opportunity to get comfortable in the water. I guess it doesn't hurt to have other parents tell you stuff ("DD is swimming!") to get your act together and get them water exposed...