Good Intentions, Blah, Blah, Blah

It was going to be a sunny, perfect day. We decided to head to the YMCA where they have an outdoor splash pad. Perfect for Jules who loves water but can’t yet swim. But first, I needed a nap, Justin needed to relax, Jules need play time and Marlo needed her second nap for the day.

Once we were all awake, rested and ready, we headed out. Jules was really excited. It was going to be awesome! We all were excited to be out of the house in the sun for a fun afternoon. We got to the Y, checked in and headed outside. Excitement went up a notch the second he saw the splash pad. It had two water slides, fountains everywhere and a big water dump every minute or so. This thing was awesome.

He excitedly took his shoes off and ran towards one of the fountains. “This is going to be easy,” I thought. We could just sit back, relax and let him play til exhaustion.

I’ll just say, that didn’t happen. He was tooling around at the end of the water slide and the lifeguard told him he couldn’t stand at the end of the slide. His face dropped and his shoulders went up and he walked over to us nearly in tears. I reassured him it was ok. The lifeguard is there to keep him safe. But that was it. No more fun for anyone, including Justin and I.

It eventually became ugly and two kids left in tears (Marlo cries when Jules cries).

The lesson: If your kid doesn’t want to get in the water anymore, just stay and enjoy the time outside the house. It beats a ride home with crying kids and angry parents.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *