champion enjoyer

Life is good right now. I'm not finding much free time to myself this summer, as you can tell from my infrequent postings, but life is good. I like having a five and an eight year old. I realize that I have medium kids, not little kids, and I'm glad. At the pool, I can visit with friends (I could even- gasp-bring a book!) since they don't need my supervision any more. We took a friend yesterday and her twin toddlers were exhausting. They were great fun, and they loved splashing in the pool and fountains, but they'd refused any lunch, probably from excitement, and we were swimming at naptime. They were tired, hungry and, well, two.

At five, Bug is holding back his tantrums finally. He starts to lose it, gets whiny and loud, but then backs down and calms himself. I waited (not so patiently) five years for this. I consulted professionals and tried therapy. He grew up. I won't say that we're there yet, a week of staying up late and starting the swim team wore him out so that we had one night when we'd hoped to have him in bed early, and still had him flat out on the floor screaming an hour and a half later. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Pook has shown both physical and emotional growth. He placed first in his age group swimming the backstroke last Saturday and was invited to a county level meet based on his time. He halved his time swimming freestyle from last summer. (For balance so I'm not bragging too much, he still looks like a frog when he dives.)

While we were in Indy, at a museum gift shop, Bug picked out a stuffed dragon which my mother agreed to buy for him. Pook couldn't find anything he really wanted except an overpriced Lego kit. Instead he walked out with a ten dollar bill and a promise that I'd take him to the Lego outlet store near us. He waited patiently until we got there yesterday, then counted out his own $30 to put with her $10 and bought a kit off the Scratch and Dent shelf, discounted $10 for the bent box. He also counted out $5 of Bug's dimes, nickles and pennies so his brother could buy Lego too.

I had planned to take them to our science museum today. Instead I decided I wasn't up to it and asked them to wait until next week. No fits. We drove to a glass blowing studio I had wanted to visit, to order some new drinking glasses. I thought we'd get to watch the glass blower, but he wasn't working today. No fits. I decided to drive them over to Centennial Olympic Park so they could splash in the fountains, but it was already 11am. and we hadn't brought lunch. They played for a while and then we walked back to the car. No fits. No whining.

Right now they're upstairs playing. At this moment no one is hitting or yelling. I can leave them to entertain themselves, and sometimes they solve their own problems. And I think I will join them for some time on the floor playing Lego too.



*****
A "Champion Enjoyer" eats chocolate slowly. Savors the root beer float. Enjoys life when life is good.
I'm not sure which kid coined the phrase, but it has joined the family dictionary.