I am 33 and I am still learning. There are two things I learned yesterday
1. Always bring your camera - These are the boys formative years. Hello. I should know better. Anyway, at Blue Ball Park yesterday, Henry went across the monkey bars all by himself ! He started and stopped a few times but, eventually he got it. He'd never done this before. It was amazing to watch. I was so proud of him. And the camera was sitting in the kitchen. Just wonderful (sarcastic).
2. Be an Aggressive Parent - Well maybe agressive is a little harsh choice of words. Proactive. I'm going to use a cheesy corporate buzz word - proactive. I need to be more proactive. Parenting involves knowledge, involves awareness, and(in more corporate terms again) thinking outside the box..
Anyway, Henry has been in Beginning Swimming throughWatsonville Parks and Rec. My boy is a fish. He loves it. His class is full. There are 4 teachers and 12 students. However two of the students cried like they were possessed by demons the first day of class, and for some reason, this entitles them into getting one on one attention. They have an instructor with them the entire time . One of the boys (according to his mother) has a pool at home and "doesn't seem to have a problem there". ( Insert shrug shrug). I hold my tounge. It's not my business. Although, it makes me question why 2 of the instructors now have 5 kids they have to watch instead of 3 and it makes me frustrated because Henry has to wait longer to do his excersise with an available instructor, slowing down his learning.
But, that wasn't what has given me the splitting headache this morning. On the brochure that we got in the beginning of summer, it states in bold that prior registration is required (duh) and that you can register the Friday before your session begins. So I have been sitting here eagerly waiting for the Friday before Session 2 to properly register Henry in the next class. Yesterday during class, one of the moms told me that when she called at the beginning of summer, to register her daughter, the person on the phone offerend to enroll her for the entire summer. I called this morning and lo and behold the next session was full. I nearly cried on the phone. No one had told me I could sign Henry up the entire summer. I was following what the brochure said. I was following the rules.
Luckily, there were spaces for him in the rest of the sessions (3 & 4) at the same time 5:15 p.m. - 5:55 p.m. Because, I'm not going to let my boy miss swimming - I signed up for the only space available in Session 2 from 9:55 - 10:35 in the morning starting next Tuesday. At our regular time, Jonie is usually done with work so she can watch Sam while Henry and I go to the session. This means I will have to take Sam with me. Sam will do his best to join his brother in the pool. I will be doing my best to chase after, restrain, and distract him for 55 minutes. Wish me luck. It will be worth it though, to see the happy look on Henry's face.
This morning, Matt told me, and he's right, that I needed to look at this all from a different perspective. If that mom hadn't told me what she did yesterday, I may not have ever known and I Henry might have missed out on Swimming completely for the rest of the summer. I should be glad I found this program in the first place. The instructors are really good and Henry is loving every minute of it. And I should be glad that my sister is around to take care of Sam for the sessions we did get at 5:15.
We are still a lucky family. We are still having a great summer. I need to remember that and enjoy it.
