Another Day (More creative titles coming soon!)

Okay, let's try this again.

6 a.m.

Neomom is working night shift and will be home in an hour. Sonwun sleeps. Sontoo has been up for half an hour and is watching Curious George. I've been up for an hour and am drinking coffee.

Now you're up to date.

Last night was baseball and soccer for the boys. Sonwun's in baseball and Sontoo in soccer. They both love their respective sports and, I think, are well suited for their choices. Unfortunately, they both play on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at the same time. 

Fortunately, they play at fields pretty close to each other. So, on nights like last, when Neomom's working, I can load my bike in the back of the truck, drop Sonwun off at baseball, drive to the soccer field and park. I watch Sontoo play soccer for about half an hour, then bike over to the ball diamond to watch Sonwun play for about half an hour. Then I bike back to the soccer field, pick up Sontoo and we both drive over to catch the end of Sonwun's game and all drive home together. 

Sometimes we stop for Slushies.

And tonight, it's swimming lessons. Sontoo at 6 and Sonwun at 6:30. Each time I sign them up, I hope against hope that I can get them both in the same time slots. It's possible, but the planets have yet to align in my favour.

So, to summarize, baseball and soccer on Tuesdays and Thursdays, swimming on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Today's festivities will include washing swim shorts, baseball and soccer stuff so it's all fresh and fluffy for the next two days. 

I also have to pick up, and begin installation of, three new interior doors as part of the ongoing renovation festival. It is nearing the end. As usual, by the time we are transferred to our next fun-filled location, the renovations will be complete for the next owners of this home to enjoy. Such is the life.

Anyhoo, that's all I have for this morning. Have a great Wednesday.

Salamanders will have to Wait

So the two weeks of intense trials, training, blood, sweat and tears are over. The Sea Turtle swimming lessons have come to an end.

Sonwun did his best to learn all of the Sea Turtle skills: Entries and Exits, Jump into Chest-Deep Water, Front Float and Recovery, Basic Kick on Front and so on. And today was graduation day.

After lessons, the kids were handed their report cards and, well, it's hard for me to say, but Sonwun will remain a Sea Turtle for another round of lessons. He will not advance to Salamander. That crazy Bohemian teacher feels my boy is not ready to be a Salamander. Is she nuts?! I got your Salamander right here, complete with some concrete water wings.

I mean how dare she? I demand a recount. I've never seen anyone grasp the PDF and Me (assisted) skill better than my boy. He's the king of Shallow Water Movement. And Intro to Rhythmic Breathing: Breath Control? He's a natural.

Oh, the humiliation. Sure, he was the youngest in the class. Sure, the other kids have taken it two or three times already. But this is MY BOY. He should be skipping over Salamander and Sunfish and moving right through to Crocodile, all the while deciding which lucrative product endorsement contracts he will sign today.

And as if that wasn't enough, one of the other mothers actually stopped me as I was pulling out of the parking lot. She's never done that before.

"So . . ." she said.

"So what?" I asked.

"How did he do?"

"He's going to do Sea Turtle again," I mumbled.

"Oh, that's too bad. My boy's moving on to Salamander."

"Yeah, well, your boy is fat. And, just between you and me, aren't you a little concerned with the way he's looking at the other boys in the change room? Just something to think about."

Okay, I didn't say it. But I thought it, really hard.

But seriously, I am happy with the way things went. In spite of his effort, and progress, Sonwun is still a little leery about deep water, even when wearing a lifejacket. He's got some work to do before he's ready to hit the rough-and-tumble, cut-throat, dod-eat-dog world of the Salamander.

I know, the most important thing is that he thoroughly enjoyed his time in the pool. Every day, he couldn't wait to put on the swimsuit and hit the water. The teacher did an excellent job with all the kids and I'm looking forward to the next round of lessons and, hopefully, some improvement in the weaker areas as he gains more confidence in the water.

There will be no lessons for the next two weeks, as the annual Norplex pool draining and cleaning will be taking place. So that gives me 14 days to pump him up for a return to Sea Turtles. I've been in contact with a sports psychologist, who has agreed to see Sonwun tonight. But before that, he's got laps to run and then we're off to the weight room. No pain, no gain.

A test

Okay, this one is just a test to see if I can upload video without screwing things up too badly.

The video, in case you don't see it, is of Sonwun's second swim class. He's the one in the teacher's arms at the start. We are in the viewing room, so the only sound you will hear is Sontoo's commentary. It's not very long - 30 seconds I think, but it's cute.

I am one of Those Crazy Parents

I will not be one of those crazy parents.

I will not be one of those crazy parents.

I will not be one of those crazy parents.

I will not be one of those crazy parents.

Well, we're back from swimming lesson number one. And I have to write lines. Seems no matter what school I go to, or visit, or watch . . .

Okay, the lines are self-imposed. I really have to step back, chill out. I'm learning and I will get better.

Upon arrival (15 minutes early) I took the boys and had a seat with the other moms in the viewing area. Everyone was nice, asked the boys' names and so on.

"You have your hands full this morning," said one. "Every morning," I replied. The moms quickly learned the boys' names and, minutes later, even remembered them. I did not remember any names. Note to self: remember names tomorrow.

Anyway, at the appropriate time, I took Sonwun and Sontoo to the change room, got Sonwun changed and led him to the pool. There, we met Sarah, his teacher. She seemed nice and quickly took control. I didn't have time to ask her about her teaching ability, her rescue training, her medical background, of if there's any history of mental illness in her family. I fought the urge to remain poolside to monitor Sonwun's every move, and instead, beat a hasty retreat back to the viewing area.

"You did the right thing," said one of the moms upon my return.

Perhaps.

I watched as my eldest son, at 3.5 years, made his way around the pool with Sarah. The only other student was a boy about Sonwun's age, but maybe a little bigger. The other boy held the teacher's hand all the way around while my boy skipped ahead, touched everything and made my heart jump half a dozen times as he skipped too close to the edge of the deep end. Be cool, be cool.

And then it was into the water, which was up to his armpits as he tip-toed around the pool. I was happy to see he was eager to get in, eager to get involved under the ever-watchful eye of . . . he slipped . . . his head's under water . . .

I just about went through the plate glass viewing window in the 0.5 seconds it took for Sonwun to regain his footing. But during that fraction of a second, I had visions of him taking in a huge amount of water, choking, never wanting to go near water again and passing on his fear of water to his children. The other mothers kind of chuckled, rolled their eyes. It's nice to be the new guy.

I will not be one of those crazy parents.

I will not be one of those crazy parents.

I will not be one of those crazy parents.

I will not be one of those crazy parents.

It took a few minutes, but I managed to adjust myself to the devil-may-care attitude of Sarah's teaching style. I mean, she let him get more than an arm's length from her. She took her eyes off him for more than two seconds. Okay, you're the boss. I'll try to be cool with your Bohemian way of teaching children to swim.

In spite of it all, things went very well. Sonwun had a blast and went about each task with huge smile on his face. Yeah, he had to be warned about splashing the other boy once or twice, but he'll learn. And he can't wait to get back to the pool tomorrow.

All in all, a good time, a good experience. And now I have something to keep us all occupied, every day, for about an hour, for two weeks. I may just survive.

Day 2

Good morning and welcome to Day 2.

The boys slept well last night, which is good. I did not. Which is bad.

As the only adult in the house now, I am more concerned with Sontoo's cold. When the wife is here, we both assume one of us will hear him if he starts the seal-like cough that goes with croup. So we sleep okay, and we've always heard it. Now, I'm the only one that can do anything about it if it starts. I was up at 3 a.m. listening to him breathe. And I didn't get back to sleep.

Fortunately, I went to bed pretty early, so I got enough sleep to get me through the day.

So, what's on the agenda today? Well, after breakfast, I will start getting the boys ready for Sonwun's swimming lessons, which start today. I am hoping against hope that he will enjoy the class, listen to the instructor and do what he's told. Listening is not one of his stronger attributes. But we've talked about it, we'll talk about it again at breakfast and we will talk about it on the way to the pool. Hopefully it will sink in.

Last night, and this morning, we talked to Mommy through the miracle of computers and webcams. It was great to see her face and talk for a few minutes. Having been born in the era of rotary dial telephones, I am impressed with how far technology has taken us in my short lifetime. It's wonderful that Mommy can see her boys every day while she's away. I think, and hope, it makes the separation just a little easier to take.

As for life in Thompson, we are into Day 4 of the Boil Water Advisory. The water mains are being flushed as we speak and, when that's all done, they'll be doing random testing around town to make sure all is well.

And just in case you were wondering, it is 8 degrees here today. That's 46.4 F for those of you down south. It's a chilly day, made just a little more pleasant by the constant drizzle and wind. So it's an indoor kinda day. Maybe we'll pick up a video or two on the way home from swimming lessons.

Again, wish me luck. I'm feeling a little better today. The initial shock has worn off and we're slowly working back into the routine of normal life. Should get a little better each day. Cheers!

Four or Five Things

Well, I've found two more things to like about Thompson. I'm trying, I really am.

Thing 1: The Norplex swimming pool. It's an indoor pool with a great big waterslide that empties into a 2-foot swimming area. It's perfect for Sonwun to learn to trust his waterwings ("Floaties" if you ask him) and learn to stand in water that's up to his neck. We went there last Saturday afternoon and there were very few people. It was nice.

Thing 2: Paint Lake. We went there last Sunday. Nice size provincial park with several nice beach areas, some shore fishing and plenty of boat fishing if you have a boat. It's about 28 minutes from the house to the park and well worth the trip. Enjoyed a burger and beer at the marina, spent some time exploring the shore with Sonwun and Sontoo and even caught a small pike from shore - very small - but at least we caught something.

But back to Thing 1. I have signed Sonwun up for his first swimming lessons, which begin a week from Monday. The wife and I both believe in the importance of swimming lessons and it's great to have somewhere to take them. He will be in the "Sea Turtle" class.

This will be the first time, beyond babysitting, where I am entrusting my boy to the care of another. This time a perfect stranger in a potentially dangerous situation. I have mixed feelings about this. I know it's important that he learns to swim. I know it's important for him to meet and interact with other adult authority figures. I know it's important for him to meet and interact with children his own age. But it's hard. In the past, around water, I (or the wife) have never been more than arm's-length away. And now I must take the position of observer, bystander and do my best not to panic, leap into the pool or whatever.

Yeah, I know all you parents who have passed this stage are rolling your eyes right now. But I bet you went through the same thing with your first-born. Or maybe I'm just nuts - more than a few have suggested this over the years.

Anyway, this brings the total number of thing I like about Thompson to five, I think. Let's review:

Norplex

Paint Lake

Riverview Restaurant

Many shopping options within minutes of home.

. . . well, maybe it was four.