Swimming

We went swimming today, the whole family. I didn't want to. Rocket Boy suggested it, and I tried for about 2 seconds to be nice about it, and then I said "No. I don't want to." I should say that before we had kids, we used to go swimming together quite often and I liked it pretty well. Not my FAVORITE activity, especially not lap swimming in a rec center pool. I like to swim in lakes, backyard pools, anything but a formal lap pool. But I got used to it and eventually did enjoy it, especially after I took an adult refresher class and improved my strokes.

That was then, this is now. Now "swimming" involves getting two little ones out of their clothes and into swim diapers, usually with no help, because I'm in the women's locker room and RB is in the men's locker room. Then a few minutes in a pool, with both of them screaming their heads off. And then afterwards getting them out of their wet swim diapers and back into their regular diapers and clothes, and somehow also getting myself changed, and keeping track of two little ones, and IT'S AWFUL. No fun at all. Someday it will be fun again and that someday is not now.

But what the heck. The day went on, we had nothing special planned, we got various tasks done, it got later, and finally I said, "OK, let's go swimming." Sometimes I'm a nice person.

We decided it would be easiest to go to the base, because it would be less crowded than the Ridgecrest public pool. We also considered the Trona public pool but that seemed too scary. So we drove to the base and went to the "Community Pool" which is an outdoor pool. It cost $5 for RB and me (the boos were free). We could take their stroller in, which helped. I parked the stroller outside the women's locker room and took one baby in at a time to get him changed. By the time we were all ready, RB was too.

At that point we discovered a wading pool! A very small, very shallow concrete pool, off to the side of the big pool, for ages 6 and under. It was about the size of a hot tub and as shallow as a bathtub. Just perfect. Baby B is a little afraid of water right now, but he was willing to sit in my lap in the water and chew on Daddy's (waterproof) watch. Baby A was a little braver -- he stood up in the water and splashed the rest of us.

We spent about an hour in the water, accompanied by a number of other children. What finally drove us out was that one of the older children (he was 3) pooped in the pool! I was so glad it wasn't my two, as it so easily could have been. We got out (they closed down the little pool), RB watched the boys while I ran into my dressing room, and then I changed them over on the grass while he went to his dressing room. The mom of the boy who pooped had brought some cheese crackers, which the boos helped themselves to, and we chatted a bit. Then RB reappeared and we left.

I suppose it'll be a long time before I think of swimming as exercise again...