Chillin' by the pool
The boys started a brief camp at The Little Gym -- Ninja Hideout! It runs three hours every day from 1-4, Monday through Thursday of just this week. The boys learn some martial arts moves, do some gymnastics, make some crafts and get a snack. And most importantly, I get three hours all by myself.
Today, I took advantage of those three hours by lounging by the pool at the Jewish Community Center we belong to (I've mentioned this before, Salt Lake City doesn't have YMCAs, and the JCC here is really nice, and I can appreciate the unlikelihood of Catholics living in the most Mormon place on the planet and belonging to a Jewish Community Center). The boys did a Little Gym camp last year, and I did the same thing one day -- went to the pool and relaxed without children.
Don't get me wrong -- I love taking the boys to the pool and actively swimming with them as much as possible. But once in a while, being there without them is nice. For three hours, I didn't have to listen to arguments about who got what snack. For three hours, I didn't have to worry about if I got enough sunblock on them. For three hours, I didn't have to be constantly alert on where they were or if Littlest would swim back to the side after jumping off the diving board. For three hours, I got to read a book, close my eyes, jump off the diving board, and simply relax.
Needless to say, I enjoyed my afternoon by the pool. I did tense up off the diving board (for those who don't know this, I only started jumping off the diving board about four years ago, and I'm still not that calm in deep water) a couple times -- I guess I wasn't that relaxed (and I've seemed to have forgotten how to breathe out when I hit the water, which went up my nose a few times and perhaps added a little stress to the experience). But I made it back to the side of the pool and out of the water, eventually sitting back down on my deck chair to chill again.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of my free afternoons this week. Wife might get annoyed if I do this every day (I'm trying to convince her to take a long lunch and join me at the pool without kids, just like the olden days), so I probably be constructive one day and get stuff done around the house, likely in the yard. I have this long bag full of metal sticks and little dimpled white balls that I think were used in some sort of outdoor game I used to play, and I might try shooting nine holes of this long forgotten game this week as well.
Aw, who am I kidding? I'll probably be sitting by the pool again tomorrow ...
Today, I took advantage of those three hours by lounging by the pool at the Jewish Community Center we belong to (I've mentioned this before, Salt Lake City doesn't have YMCAs, and the JCC here is really nice, and I can appreciate the unlikelihood of Catholics living in the most Mormon place on the planet and belonging to a Jewish Community Center). The boys did a Little Gym camp last year, and I did the same thing one day -- went to the pool and relaxed without children.
Don't get me wrong -- I love taking the boys to the pool and actively swimming with them as much as possible. But once in a while, being there without them is nice. For three hours, I didn't have to listen to arguments about who got what snack. For three hours, I didn't have to worry about if I got enough sunblock on them. For three hours, I didn't have to be constantly alert on where they were or if Littlest would swim back to the side after jumping off the diving board. For three hours, I got to read a book, close my eyes, jump off the diving board, and simply relax.
Needless to say, I enjoyed my afternoon by the pool. I did tense up off the diving board (for those who don't know this, I only started jumping off the diving board about four years ago, and I'm still not that calm in deep water) a couple times -- I guess I wasn't that relaxed (and I've seemed to have forgotten how to breathe out when I hit the water, which went up my nose a few times and perhaps added a little stress to the experience). But I made it back to the side of the pool and out of the water, eventually sitting back down on my deck chair to chill again.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of my free afternoons this week. Wife might get annoyed if I do this every day (I'm trying to convince her to take a long lunch and join me at the pool without kids, just like the olden days), so I probably be constructive one day and get stuff done around the house, likely in the yard. I have this long bag full of metal sticks and little dimpled white balls that I think were used in some sort of outdoor game I used to play, and I might try shooting nine holes of this long forgotten game this week as well.
Aw, who am I kidding? I'll probably be sitting by the pool again tomorrow ...
Comments