This summer feels like such a blessing. My kids are still young enough for me to really enjoy them and we have had time to go and do some really fun things together.
Last Friday we took a beautiful hike with a group of moms and their kids in the morning, and in the afternoon, we were invited to swim at a friend's pool.
Swimming in a backyard pool is so relaxing. I like being able to see all of my kids all of the time in a small enclosed area.
We had such a good time, that today we did pretty much the same thing. We went on a hike with the same group of friends. This time, it was to our little pond that is just .75 miles from our front door. I love being able to walk to the mountains.
We have started taking family hikes every Sunday morning to this pond (and other lookouts a little further up the trail). The kids often complain, especially when we are getting started. But, I hope that when they grow up, these hikes are one of the things they will remember about their childhoods.
After lunch, we headed to the North Shore Aquatic Center, a large pool in North Ogden.
The outing started out warm and the forecast said it should be in the upper 80s. But, after we were there for an hour or so, a pretty strong wind kicked up and big clouds covered the sun. Standing in the wind soaking wet with no sunshine felt pretty cold. Staying in the water wasn't bad, but after a couple of hours we took a break, dried off and had some snacks.
I'm telling you, I am no fan of being cold and after I had dried off, I was feeling in the mood to be a supervisor from the side of the kiddie pool for the rest of the day. But, my cute little Isaac really wanted to go down the big slide. Kids under 48" can slide down with an adult and anyone over 48" can slide alone. He is 47".
I made him go back to the lazy river for another 30-minutes while I thought about what to do. I really did not want to get back into that water. But, then I realized that my son would always remember that I took him on the slide (or, that I didn't).
He was so patient and cute. He just kept playing in the lazy river without complaint. I think he assumed we would go on the big slide soon.
I knew what had to be done. So, I left the comfort of being dry by the side of the pool and marched that kid up several flights of stairs to the top of the slide. I told myself that we would go down that slide as many times as it took to make him satisfied and then I would get dry and warm again.
We had an exciting ride to the bottom and a splash down that took us both under the water head to toe. As soon as we emerged, the announcement came over the loudspeaker that they would be evacuating all of the pools for 10 minutes for a "safety check."
You know what that meant. Ten minutes of getting dry and warm before we could go down the slide again (hahahaha).
When the pools re-opened I asked Isaac how many times he thought he would need to go down and he said 10.
I said 5. He said O.K.
Dear Isaac,
I want you to always remember that I took you down the big slide even though I was warm and dry and the weather was cold and windy. I hope you remember how we both screamed as we whipped around the corners. And, that sometimes we closed our eyes. And, once, while we were closing our eyes, you slammed your head into the side of the slide but you didn't even cry. In fact, I'm pretty sure we both had smiles glued onto our faces as we hustled up those steps so that we could ride down the big slide over and over and over. Ten times. Even though you were shivering all over and your lips were blue. I love you.
Love,
Mom
1 comment:
way to go, Amy! That is true love right there.
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