Saturday

[olmue]

We finally had a free day (well, except for all the packing) and so finally I was able to take the kids to the pool. The outside ones aren't open yet, but there is a very nice, very inexpensive recreation center in the next town over with an indoor pool, so we went there. It's also the town where 10% of all Marshallese citizens in the world live, so if we'd wanted, we could have watched the mostly-Marshallese basketball game going on, or bought a Marshallese newspaper. It's kind of cool. Where else can I go in the US to imagine I'm actually living on a lovely, tropical island?

Anyway. It was PMB's first time ever to go swimming. He had no objections to the swim diaper and the swimming suit sans shirt (after all, all toddlers want is to run around stark naked). But then we walked into the pool, and he was terrified. It was loud and there were all these strange people and it was just weird. The life jacket was a little too big, too. (You can't use your own floaties there--if you need one, you have to use their Red Cross life jackets.) At first he wouldn't even put a toe in the water. Finally we got him to splash in about three inches or so, and by the end he let me hold him and "swim" him around the pool. Finally we went home when it looked like he and Little Sweetie were going to fall asleep. I'm glad he had fun, but he reminded me of edawn 's son when he was two and we all went to the beach for the first time. PMB might not have many words yet, but he also had wide eyes and wanted to climb down my throat and stay awhile where it was safe, and I could tell his little mind was saying, "Angst! Angst!" On the other hand, my 9YO finally put his head under water. So it might take a few years, but we'll get there...

Now, off to make weird food from the assortment of food we need to use up, and then we'll watch the Eurovision final. I hope someone good wins.

Comments

[edawn.livejournal.com]

The first time you see the ocean can be overwhelming, I guess. Which makes me think of The Forest of Teeth and Hands.

How'd ya like the show tonight. You never know. Just never.

[wordsrmylife.livejournal.com]

You just reminded me of when BD was a bit older than PMB and we went to Mommy & Me Splash time at the local pool. After two days we didn't go back, because while she was fine as long as she was holding tight to me, my neck developed quite the kink and I couldn't take another day of it. But she did manage to make it through the rudiments of swimming lessons.

Good luck with the rest of the moving preparations.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

LOL--somehow it is not hard to imagine what that felt like! I'm sure that's how any Mommy & Me swim time would go with him.