When I wrote about my husband and I swimming laps, I promised to keep you updated on our progress. The big swimming event in the past few weeks, however, did not include laps. Stephen and I took our niece and nephew to an indoor water-park.
While this was an adventure, it was a on a different exercise scale. Instead of swimming back and forth across a pool, I walked hand-in-hand with a 3 year old little girl who didn't really like to be splashed. We did go up and down a little slide at least 20 times. And I probably did get my exercise climbing the stairs and going down the slide because I had a little Gracie clinging to me the whole time. It was like going down a slide with a 20 lbs. kettle ball.
The really memorable parts--aside from the zillions of people, hot temperatures, overall loudness--was watching the kids experience it all. Luke, at age 6, enjoyed everything perfectly. He knew the areas that were too deep or the slides that were too fast, but enjoyed all the slides that were "just right" for him. Grace just observed everything.
We also laughed. We laughed when Stephen went down a slide that he was a bit too big for and his own momentum made his dismount less than graceful. And we laughed when Grace made sure everyone had their "clip-clops" (her "f" is not one of her strongest phonetic sounds) on.
The evening felt like a rite of passage for Stephen and I as uncle and aunt. Together we safely took two kids to a water-park, provided them dinner at the snack shop, gave them a bath, and put them to bed all in a hotel. We were exhausted.
I wish I had a picture to put with this post. The picture I have in my mind is walking down the hotel hallway and in front of me Luke, Grace, and Stephen are holding hands, wearing "clip-clops" and bathing suits.
FYI, I did swim laps this past Tuesday. I swam a full 1,000 yards. I was proud of myself for getting to the pool--Stephen was not home and did not participate. We'll see what swimming adventures next week brings.
