There's Nothing Lazy About a Lazy River...
... at least not when you're trying to keep track of an eight-year-old and a three-year-old.
I took the boys to Alabama Adventure yesterday alone. My wife works weekends. This is convenient in many ways -- we don't have to worry about childcare, there's always at least one of us home at any given point in time for the kids, etc. -- but it does have its drawbacks, too. One of those drawbacks is that, except for in the evenings, we're usually outnumbered by the little guys.
Yesterday I woke up to the typical chorus of arguing little boys (fighting over toys, what to watch on TV, what to eat for breakfast, who looks better dressed as Mario, whether Mario or Luigi is actually number one, etc., etc., etc.) and wanted to slam my head into the wall a few times or funnel a few bottles of rum to make it all just go away. Oh, and I'm kidding, of course -- I don't need to use a funnel for rum. The bottle works just fine... ;) Seriously, I love the little guys, but they're getting stir crazy and sick of each other at the moment. They've spent far too much time together this summer. I think the oldest is ready for school to start back, but he'd never admit it.
Anyway, instead, I got the boys dressed and took them to Alabama Adventure, a local amusement park. And - surprise, surprise -- they actually were very good. I was worried about taking them alone, but they got along for almost eight hours straight. They only had one or two moments of bickering caused by one wanting to ride a kiddie ride while the other wanted to ride a thrill ride, but overall, not too bad a day. We got some exercise, ate Dipping Dots, rode a bunch of rides until we came close to throwing up our Dipping Dots, and spent a lot of time sitting beneath a giant bucket that would pour out on us every so often and rolling in the waves of a wave pool.
But, no, the Lazy River was not a good idea. Like I said in the title of this post, there was nothing lazy about it. The oldest kept being swept away by the current and getting a few yards ahead downriver while the younger one was constantly trying to wriggle out of my arms. The youngest can't swim yet, but he doesn't seem to understand that, and refused to hold on to or wear any sort of floatation device. So I felt like Stretch Armstrong trying to keep my family together. But other than that, it was a great day.
Today, the boys have been taking it easy -- playing the Wii and Game Boy -- while Daddy's been cooking and cleaning and taking care of some basic home repair stuff I've been meaning to get around to for a while now. I may even have a chance to get some writing done. We'll see...
I think I'll take them back to the park next weekend. It beats sitting around listening to them argue about every little thing. That's for sure.
What does this have to do with writing? Nothing, really. Except maybe it's okay to take a chance, to do something different, to do something you thought you could not do alone. It sometimes works out just fine, or even better than fine.
I took the boys to Alabama Adventure yesterday alone. My wife works weekends. This is convenient in many ways -- we don't have to worry about childcare, there's always at least one of us home at any given point in time for the kids, etc. -- but it does have its drawbacks, too. One of those drawbacks is that, except for in the evenings, we're usually outnumbered by the little guys.
Yesterday I woke up to the typical chorus of arguing little boys (fighting over toys, what to watch on TV, what to eat for breakfast, who looks better dressed as Mario, whether Mario or Luigi is actually number one, etc., etc., etc.) and wanted to slam my head into the wall a few times or funnel a few bottles of rum to make it all just go away. Oh, and I'm kidding, of course -- I don't need to use a funnel for rum. The bottle works just fine... ;) Seriously, I love the little guys, but they're getting stir crazy and sick of each other at the moment. They've spent far too much time together this summer. I think the oldest is ready for school to start back, but he'd never admit it.
Anyway, instead, I got the boys dressed and took them to Alabama Adventure, a local amusement park. And - surprise, surprise -- they actually were very good. I was worried about taking them alone, but they got along for almost eight hours straight. They only had one or two moments of bickering caused by one wanting to ride a kiddie ride while the other wanted to ride a thrill ride, but overall, not too bad a day. We got some exercise, ate Dipping Dots, rode a bunch of rides until we came close to throwing up our Dipping Dots, and spent a lot of time sitting beneath a giant bucket that would pour out on us every so often and rolling in the waves of a wave pool.
But, no, the Lazy River was not a good idea. Like I said in the title of this post, there was nothing lazy about it. The oldest kept being swept away by the current and getting a few yards ahead downriver while the younger one was constantly trying to wriggle out of my arms. The youngest can't swim yet, but he doesn't seem to understand that, and refused to hold on to or wear any sort of floatation device. So I felt like Stretch Armstrong trying to keep my family together. But other than that, it was a great day.
Today, the boys have been taking it easy -- playing the Wii and Game Boy -- while Daddy's been cooking and cleaning and taking care of some basic home repair stuff I've been meaning to get around to for a while now. I may even have a chance to get some writing done. We'll see...
I think I'll take them back to the park next weekend. It beats sitting around listening to them argue about every little thing. That's for sure.
What does this have to do with writing? Nothing, really. Except maybe it's okay to take a chance, to do something different, to do something you thought you could not do alone. It sometimes works out just fine, or even better than fine.