Not My Proudest Moment

Colin is growing really fast.  I can no longer rest my chin on his head and I could do that just a few weeks ago.  He is in one of those phases where the location of the end of his feet are a mystery.  At the swim meet the other night he came over to me and told me that he fell into the baby pool and hurt himself.  I was sitting by a woman who was rude and said that the only way you could do that was if you tried.  She is one of those parents that thinks her child is perfect and she is the best mother ever. 

I looked at Colin's elbow and got him a band-aid and sent him on his way.  He came back about 4 times to tell me that he was really hurt and I poo-pooed him each time.  In my mind, the baby pool is only one foot deep, how bad could he really be hurt?  I didn't see any marks and had attended to his elbow.  I didn't want to be seen as the indulgent mom in front of the other parents.   In my gut I was wondering if he really did get hurt, but he has been known to make a mountain out of a molehill before so I just kept brushing him off.   

The next morning when he got up he was really in pain.  His neck was stiff from sleeping funny to protect his elbow and ribs, and it hurt his ribs to move his arm above his head. 

I feel like I failed as a mother.  I am supposed to be his advocate and his soft place to land (no pun intended).  I should have listened.  I should have asked more questions.  I should not really care about what other parents think of my parenting skills.  My responsibility was to Colin and his needs.  He is a sensitive child and I should have taken that into consideration.

Why am I now 40 years old and still concerned about fitting in with the "cool" moms on swim team.  When am I going to get over these feelings of being the annoying little sister trying to fit in with the big kids?  When am I going to actually feel like a grown-up? 

I will do better next time.  I hope.

Swimming through summer

Summer vacation is in full swing for the boys.  We are in week 3 or maybe 4 of Colin being out of school and we are all doing fine.  This week Ryan is also out of school but taking safety town. 

We are 5 swim meets into the season and are still undefeated.  Colin has seen some improvement and I am very proud.  I think swim meats are payback for all the times I made my dad come to track meets and hold my sleeping bag while it was freezing cold or raining.  It was raining for 4 out of 5 of them and they do not call it off unless there is lightning.  I was trying to figure out how to get the overhead lights to flicker in the hope they would think it was a storm.  No such luck. 

In case you are new to being a swim parent, let me give you some pointers. 
1.  Do not volunteer to be a runner.  Or a timer.  Or the volunteer coordinator.  Or a child wrangler.  All other positions are fine.  The catch is that it seems to go faster if you are doing something, but these positions require you to be there for the entire meet,  even if your child is done half way through. 

2.  Prepare to be bored, hot, tired, and damp.   Take a chair and a good book. 

3.  Pay attention to the current event.  It would be horrible if you sat there for 3 hours and missed the 60 seconds your kid is actually doing something. 

4.  Bring snacks.  For your swimmer and for you. 

5.  Enjoy it.  They can be fun.

An Open Letter to LeBron James

Please stop talking.  You are only making a bad situation worse.  You can not expect people in Cleveland to forgive and forget in just one season.  What you did to our city is really unforgivable.  We supported you from the time you started in high school.  We bragged to people that not only were you a good basketball player, but you were a really good person as well.  You strung us along for months while you were deciding where you wanted to take your talents and then you blindsided us by such a horrible spectacle of selfishness and inflated ego by announcing your decision on ESPN. You did not even have the decency to tell Dan Gilbert your decision before the announcement on live television.  How did you expect that we would take this?  Did you even think about the people that had supported you and helped you get to the status you have enjoyed?  How do you feel when you watch that back and realize that is the exact moment you lost all respect from so many people?

Other beloved sports stars have left the area and  are still admired for their talents.  Jim Thome would be a good example for you to follow.  He admitted he was leaving for more money and a better chance to win a world series, and nobody got upset or blamed him for his decision.  He did it with respect for the area and all the support we had given him while he was here.  Instead, you follow in the footsteps of Carlos Boozer who was the most criticized athlete of all times.  What you did was worse.  Instead of lying to an owner that was nothing but kind and generous, you went out and pooped on all of the people that spent money on games and apparel, and time and energy cheering you on.

You ruined years of good will.  Your family still lives here.  I think it is you that needs to get on with your life.  The people of Cleveland have already done so.  You can't blame us for getting some enjoyment out of your loss.  You brought it on yourself.

40 and Fabulous Part IV

So I lived to tell about the massage.  I know that most people enjoy this experience, but is it really not my thing.  As a general rule I do not like people I do not know to touch me, especially not that much of me.  In the interest of opening my mind and trying new things I decided to give this another shot.  I have to tell you I am still not a big fan.  I was able to relax a little bit, and I would not say it was torture or anything, but I am not in a rush to do it again anytime soon.    I do think that it helped to do damage control after the horseback riding.  Did I mention just how big my horse was?  Here is a picture of me and my friend Lynn on our respective horses.  Trust me when I say that this picture does not do him justice.  I am 5'8" tall and I could not see over him when they brought him out to me. 

This morning my adrenaline junkie friends went zip lining and took an off road driving course.  I have come to the conclusion that acting like I am 18 while I am 40 makes me feel like I am 80, so  I decided to get a pedicure.  I think I have lovely summer feet now.  Bring on the sandals!

After checking out from the resort we headed to Falling Waters.  I am feeling kind of uncultured since I did not know what that was. In case you are in my shoes, it was the house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the Kaufmann family of the department store fame.  They had commissioned him to design their weekend home and wanted it next to a beautiful waterfall.  Instead,  Frank designed it over the waterfall.  It was stunning!  The location was breathtaking and the design was architectural genius, as they pointed out to us again and again on the tour.   I am so glad that Kellie suggested we stop there on our way home.  Here is the view that they were trying to preserve, and that you can see from almost anywhere in the house.

I really wish my phone took better pictures, but if you wait for me to get the photos off my actual camera it will never happen.  If Kellie downloads hers I will upload them here.   It was an amazing weekend with amazing friends. I have not laughed so hard, often or long in a really long time.  When I fully recover I will tell you about our drive home that took twice as long as our trip out.  There were times like when we almost crossed the West Virginia border and I was not sure we were ever getting back.  I have not been so excited to see our house since last weekend when I got home from Relay For Life, and that is saying a lot!

40 and Fabulous - The Horseback Ride

In our quest to try new things, Lynn and I went horseback riding.  Holy canoli my horse was big.  His name was Haze and I am happy to say he was in a mood to amble.  It was beautiful and relaxing but my behind was getting mighty sore and I was ready to get off when it was done.  Lynn rode Cutter who was about two feet shorter, and our guide rode King who liked to stop to eat grass.  Kellie opted out and went to do skeet shooting instead.We are having the best time!  

Now we are off for a much needed massage.  Did I mention that I don't like people to touch me?  Should prove to be interesting. 

Paint Ball

For our first activity today we did Paint Ball Combat.  I have decided that I am woefully out of shape.  I don't know why I would think that I am in shape since the whole of my exercise is walking Max a few times a day, and not very far at that.  We met up with the other group that had signed up and divided up the teams.  They were not out of shape.  In fact, I believe they would be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound because they were able to leap over the logs and barriers with no issue while I literally fell on my butt. 

My assessment of paint ball is that it was hot, sweaty, and a whole lot of fun.  It is imperative that you wear the face mask even though I kept wanting to say "Luke, I am not your faather."  It protected me from a sure trip to the emergency room when I was hit square between the eyes.  I am so glad that Lynn suggested that we do it.  It is not something that I would have done on my own, but that is kind of the point  behind this trip. 

More to follow...

Girls Weekend Part I

Our girls weekend is underway.  We have made it to our destination through torrential downpours.  We stopped at the Andy Warhol museum and I have decided that he was a strange man.  I was able to appreciate his work and I can respect his desire to have the life he had, but he was a strange man. 

We are in a hoity toity resort in the mountains of Pennsylvania and we are getting ready to go to a paint ball war.  They suggested that you wear old clothes as not to ruin any good ones and as I was walking down to get something out of the car I could tell people were thinking that I did not belong.  How is it that at 40 years old I still feel like I am the little kid trying to play with the big girls? 

I will report back after the battle.