The Pool Update

Shane really loves swimming. We go every weekday (and are up to 22 visits as of 7/18!).

 

We usually stay for 2-3 hours, but we've pushed close to 4. I can't handle the sun that long. I bring entertainment to keep busy in the shade (I've actually only swam twice).

Breaks are the main times Shane interacts with me.

Usually because he wants ice cream. Sometimes to talk, but he'll often ask just in case I'll agree when he least expects it. I've let Shane buy a drumstick cone as long as he swims for two full sessions more than I probably should.

But it's summer. 

Sometimes he even offers me a bite.

That's enough about ice cream. The real star of the pool is the pool. Shane loves to play in the deep end.

 

He'll dive, play games, practice touching the bottom, or just flail around fully submerged.

If there are less strong swimmers, he'll party in the shallow end. It's all about where the kids are. 

We've gone enough that Shane is recognizing more kids and learning names (Which I quiz him on). I've even met a few parents like for the boys above, Jalen and William.

Most days go really well. There's lots of laughter and lots of interaction. We stayed later than usual in this picture, because of a soccer meeting I wanted to attend. Shane started playing with Jack and then his friend from school (whom we hadn't seen in a year and a half) Peter showed up.

Other days are a little rougher. The worst day was earlier in the summer, but there have been a few other difficult days. 

Shane plays LOUD. He's full of energy and he revs everyone up. Some of it's borderline behavior you can get in trouble for. Like this zombie play: Shane was slashing his arms in the air and at first glance it looked like he was angry or ready to fight. But no, he was a zombie and he wanted to slash the air right next to the people he was chasing.

One wrong move and someone gets hit. 

The other catch is sometimes Shane plays crazy for so long that when he tires of it, other kids don't. Especially littler ones. There was one day that Shane kept trying to swim off or be on his own and a pair of littler guys hounded him. He even came up to me for a little bit to try and get a break. 

Another day, Shane got in trouble for rough-housing. He's not mean, but he likes physical play. Several of his friends are likeminded (Atlas come to mind) and they'll be jumping on each other, wrestling for a ball, or whatever all while yelling at the top of their lungs until a lifeguard blows a whistle. There's nothing mean-spirited about the play on Shane's end. However, the lifeguards are looking at it from a safety angle and Shane's got to respect that. I like physical play myself (wrestler, duh!), but I will back up whatever penalty the lifeguards give.

Thankfully, no lifeguard has made Shane sit out yet. He's been on the last warning multiple times, but one day he bummed a pop tart from a lifeguard, so they must like him on some level! It's more work to keep an eye on high energy kids, but they can make life a lot more interesting.

And Shane brings the energy. So much energy.

Usually, there's more than enough kids around to keep Shane busy. I try to aim for the post-lunch / pre-dinner time window. A few times we've gone early and it's been empty. That's meant I have to swim or at least entertain.

I was playing cheerleader/announcer one morning for Shane and it came up that Shane was (now) scared to dive off the diving board. "It hurts to hit my feet," Shane said.

You shouldn't hit your feet diving.

Shane has a tendency to jump before he gets to the end of the diving board. Sometimes by a lot. I'd bet it factored into him hitting his head on the diving board trying a flip at camp, too. I didn't think to pull the camera out at first, but in this shot you can see he's at least a little ways back.

So naturally, I wanted to coach and have him practice jumping off the end for maximum safety and bounce! A lifeguard named Emma suggested Shane could stand at the very end rather than running to get used to it, too.

Only Shane got sensitive and told me I was being too critical. 

So I stopped. I thought he was being a baby and would've loved to have helped and played more with the slow-motion, but if he was only hearing the negative it wasn't going to be a positive experience. A kid showed up not long after and I was off the hook for entertaining.

Bottom line: I'm glad we joined the pool. I would have liked to have signed Shane up for swim lessons, too, but they filled up. I'll have to jump on that quicker next year.