Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Jump In

Today I took the kids I'm a nanny for to the pool. As I splashed around in the pool with them, I noticed something. I was the only woman in the pool! Sure, there were moms all around the baby pool, but they were just sitting on the side with their feet in, sporting their designer sunglasses and perfectly pedicured toes. None of them seemed to want to get wet. None of them had wet hair. As a matter of fact, if an enthusiastic kid swam by and splashed them, they shrieked like little girls.

Right now, some of you, (or most of you, judging by today), are saying, "So?" To you, I say "WHY?" You've seen kids swimming and splashing around in the water. It looks like fun, doesn't it? Well, that's because... IT IS.

Jump in! Do a cannonball off the diving board. You just might laugh at yourself. You just might feel young again. Your kids just might think you're cool. Or that you've lost your mind, but who cares?

Listen, I've worked with kids for a long time. They are a great excuse to act like a great big kid yourself. Go ahead and make an ass out of yourself. The people who are looking at you are just jealous. They wish they had the guts to do the exact same thing.

Go down that water slide! (Not the one that gives you a giant wedgie, though. Trust me, no one wants to see that.). Sit your big butt down in the sand and make a sandcastle. Ride the waves. Chase a butterfly. Jump in a mud puddle. Go on the swings. Run barefoot through the grass. You'll give your kids a summer to remember, and I'm betting you'll remember it too.



* "If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older". (Abraham Sutzkener)

* "None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm". (Henry David Thoreau)

* "If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old". (James A. Garfield)

* "We grow gray in our spirit long before we grow gray in our hair". (Charles Lamb)

* "Little by little the time goes by, short if you sing it, long if you sigh. (Unknown)

6 comments:

Dharmamama said...

One of THE most valuable things I've done is learn how to PLAY with my kids; it made the biggest difference in our relationship! It was easy when they were very young; as they got older, I had some screwy voice telling me "adults don't do that." So glad I learned to not listen!

Even now, I'll play videogames with them, it helps me appreciate why they like them so much - I also just plain like 'em, my kids, so I love to spend time with them. Great post!

Burgh Baby said...

See, that's why I heart you. Playing IS fun!

Lisa @ Boondock Ramblings said...

I can not agree more. I love jumping right in with Jonathan with stuff like that but feel like "I shouldn't." I do it anyhow. Last night I was running through the sprinkler with him and was soaked, looking dumb, but didn't care. It was fun. Great lesson to teach us all!

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

I always played in the pool and ocean with my kids--it is fun--who wouldn't want to. And trust me, your kids don't care what you look like in a bathing suit AT all.

Janet said...

I'm the only woman over 12 who is in our pool. And believe me, some of those women had better start doing laps rather than working on the tans. Even some of the lifeguards are in such bad shape that I really worry about their ability to swim the length of the pool, much less actually save anyone.
I invented a game where my kids sit in their floats, and I grab a foot on each and drag them around in the water. it's a GREAT workout for me and they love it. Eventually I'm going to get in trouble because the other kids are going to want their mothers to do it too.

Jen said...

yYU