Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts



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1. I go back to work in two and a half weeks, so that means mom guilt and time-off remorse are both in full-swing. I sat down the other day and added up how much time Sawyer will be in preschool compared to daycare last year, since my schedule is changing a tiny bit, and it's the same, but I still feel bad (it's always like that at the beginning of the year, and I always feel better after a few days). I also look back at the last two months and wonder if I did enough with him, for the house, with friends, etc... What can I cram into the next eighteen days while still relaxing? I WANT TO DO IT ALL AND I WANT TO DO NOTHING.

2. Speaking of friends, I have been so lucky to spend time with so many of the wonderful people in my life lately, with plans yet to come. It's so nice to catch up.

3. So, Sawyer dropped out of swim lessons. The first day was great, but on the second day they pressured him to put him face in and he was not having it. Then, when he started crying the instructor dunked him. My child literally screamed the whole thirty minutes. I took him out to use the restroom and tried to settle him down, but it didn't work. I tried again the next day after talking to the instructor about letting him keep his head up (it was the first week of level one, come on), which he agreed to, but Sawyer started bawling as soon as he got in. And that was that. I took him and left- he was scared, the other kids were confused, and parents were annoyed. So now I'm trying to work with him more at home and we'll figure something out for next summer. Water safety and learning how to swim is super important to me, though, since we have a pool.

4. More fun times with kid activities: at gymnastics yesterday an ornery little child put his hands around Sawyer's neck to "playfully" choke him. Sawyer ran away to me and looked so, so sad. I told him he did the right thing by leaving and telling a grown up, and that the other kid wasn't being nice, blablabla. The kid's mom was right behind me. Ha! She asked me what happened and immediately removed her child was a stern talking to. Parenting. It's lovely.

5. I finished the cross stitch above in record time (thanks, summer!) and I love how it turned out.

6. I am current reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gaily Honeyman and am enjoying it, although it does remind me at times a little bit of The Rosie Project (not that it's a rip off, just some similarities with the tone/voice). I am also still listening to Beartown, which is definitely entertaining. 

7. So many fun things coming up (see number one... ha)- two days of breakfasts with different friends, a day at some museums with Sawyer Saturday, and then Sawyer starts going to preschool in the morning for two days a week on Monday.

8. Not fun: I just got a cortisone shot in my hip and as soon as I walked out of the office I almost passed out. I went back in the office and called for a ride. Sigh. I can run half marathons, jump out of an airplane, birth a baby, hike Half Dome twice, and get a tattoo but I just suck at needles. In my defense he did it standing up, so that was uncomfortable and weird. 

4 comments:

  1. Love the cross-stitch.

    I was a swimming coach for many years and also 'taught' under-5s/ babies. I say 'taught' because babies can't learn to swim (physically, until your elbows are equal to the top of your head when your put your hands in the air, you're never going to swim far - try it, and make Sawyer try it too). It was a constant frustration that swim schools would market lessons for kids under 5 as 'learn to swim'. What kids can do at that age is have fun in the water with their parents and start to learn some basic water safety stuff eg. dog-paddle, how to use a kick-board, how to get out from the edge of a pool/ use the steps, and how to float. These things could save their life.

    It's absolutely terrible that the teacher dunked Sawyer under the water. I would suggest you ditch lessons - they'll only distress him - and spend time playing in the water with him. Honestly, that's sufficient until he's old enough to be in the water without a parent for lessons (which is school-age in Australia, not sure what they do in the US).

    Despite 20+ years of swim teaching, I didn't start my own kids until they were 5. Prior to that, we'd play at the pool and the beach. They loved the water but also had a healthy respect (ie. didn't love it so much that they'd want to jump in any pool they saw). Even though some would say that they had a 'late start', they all swam squad (and some still are)and in no way were behind the others when they began lessons at age 5.

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  2. That is a great cross-stitch. Love the message.

    Dunking a kid who is still getting used to the water is horrible! You can find someone better than that, I'm sure.

    Enjoy the whole new routine. It's always a challenge with day care, preschool, etc.

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  3. I can't believe the instructor did that to a 3 year old!! I'm doing what our pool calls Toddler Splash with my son which is for 2 and 3 year olds and it's intended as a fun class with songs and games to get them comfortable in the water, learn some water safety, and work on readiness to learn how to swim later. The instructor is very understanding of their developmental level and emphasizes certain things only to be done if your kid is comfortable with it -- not to coddle them, but recognizing that if they are forced to do something they are not ready for, it will do the complete opposite of getting them comfortable in the water. The only thing I've felt was questionable at this age was teaching them to jump in (with parent catching them) -- the point was teaching them to immediately grab for the wall and learn to climb out, buuuuut my kid loved it a bit too much and is probably a little too comfortable jumping in now. Still, I can't imagine anything more advanced for a 2 or 3 year old.

    Also, I'm sure it's different for a joint like your hip, but I got a few different series of cortisone shots in my keloid scars (overgrown, bumpy scars -- don't look it up, they're pretty gross) and they were quite literally some of the most painful experiences of my life and I'm fairly certain my dr office anxiety which sometimes makes my blood pressure a little high at the office (but completely fine at home, they made me monitor when I was pregnant) is a result of those darn shots.

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