Rewarding Good Behavior

The girls have been mostly good lately, Jemma's daily morning tantrums about Not Wearing a Ponytail and Not Getting Dressed notwithstanding. Today, Jason and I both had things we wanted to get done, so we split up the day and each took half to do fun things with the girls while the other parent had "alone" time.

This morning, Jason took them out for breakfast, then ran a couple errands, then hit a new park, then brought them to the gym to play. I ran the lake with Sarah, showered, lazed around drinking coffee and reading The Hour I First Believed, got a pedicure, did some laundry, and ordered Jemma's new Big Girl Bedding (not that we are in ANY hurry to move her out of her crib), which I've been meaning to do for some time.

This afternoon, while Jason got a few projects of his own accomplished, I brought the girls to the pool. When we pulled up, I was confused: fountains off, lifeguards not in chairs, pool completely empty of people, gate closed. I did a mental tally - it's Friday afternoon, it's hazy-but-sunny (no rain, no lightening), it's 80 degrees . . . So I stopped the car and ran over to yell to a lifeguard who was straightening empty chairs. Yep, they're open.

So we tromped in (via the other entrance) and proceeded to be the only people in the entire pool for 45 minutes until, finally, one other family showed up. It was amazing; normally, there are 50 million kids bashing against you and splashing and yelling. Today, just Annie, wearing her goggles and diving down to retrieve rings on the bottom, and Jemma, crawling and jumping and throwing a ball in the shallow end. I sat on the edge, they yelled, "Mom! Watch this!" a hundred thousand times. I guess I'm entering the "Mom, watch!" phase of life, which I'll take over the "Mom, hold my hand and be one inch from me at all times so I don't drown" phase.

I read this recently (on www.sanemoms.com) and thought it was good enough to share:

If you’re debating a day trip or an outing with your kids, or keeping them up late, or doing something spontaneous and out-of-the-ordinary with your spouse: do it! The best memories rarely come from the most meticulously planned events. They come from that late-night-firefly-catching ramble or last-minute trip to the beach. It’s never practical, rational, or well thought out. It’s just plain a good thing to do. Find something absurd to do this week, grab your kids, a friend, or your kids friends, and do it!

And off to "the cottage" we go tomorrow morning, fingers crossed for sunshine and happy memories in spite of the absurdity of another weekend on the road.

p.s. - New post up at Bodies in Motivation!