The Splash Is On!

So...what happens when you get several consecutive days of near-90-degree weather in Texas???

The swimsuits, they are a-busted out. Pronto!

We’ve had not one, not two, but three swim events this week, and it truly makes me feel like we’re staring down the barrel o’ the summer. Because we totally are!

Today, we had the best time, joining a few other families at the home of one of our school friends.

Our lovely host was a mom I really dig (and her hubby), who we’ve played with before—but this was the first chance to swim in their unbelievable backyard.

The group consisted of a few other moms I also dig and know well by now, and it was just a really lovely time—and a chance for a couple of the menfolk to finally meet. :)

And the kiddos...oh, the kiddos. Fun is not an accurate descriptor for their play time. They were pretty much in seventh heaven for the afternoon.

It’s totally worth mentioning that the menfold (especially my own personal one) really made the afternoon lovely for us ladies.

My own dear hubby totally got the gold star for diving in (literally, over and over) and rough-housing with all those rambunctious cutie pies. They were wild for him. 

And one of the other daddies kept up a supply of periodic water balloons and cleaned up the kitchen so the ladies could just sit.

I mean, when does that ever happen???

I think the magic pixie dust of Mother’s Day appreciation must have been in the air. :)

It’s such a beautiful thing to see all these budding relationships between kiddos and adults bloom after months of careful nurturing (cheesy, but true!).

And in other pool/friend fun...we were so blessed by a sweet pool invitation from another little school friend earlier this week.

And I gotta say—that invitation really struck me as a particular kindness, because the kiddos only loosely know each other and aren’t even in the same class (or even the same gender), but they are kind people and we try to be kind people, and a bunch of kind people can always have a fun time!

Add in water guns—which the kiddos have never really played with—and it was some happy, happy, joy, joy.

Now, the third and final pool event of the week happened after that fun, impromptu swim/play date when we headed to our beloved swim school (while we were all still sipping wet) for the kiddos’ class evaluations for the summer!



I can’t believe we’ll be launching into the swim school summer in just a few short weeks, but boy am I grateful the kiddos still love it there. And I love the safety it helps to promote.

Because it’s important to note that on our swim play date earlier this week, Little Man had an incident that certainly renewed the water fear in this Mama’s heart.

We were wrapping up the swim fun and drying off on the patio as we finished up eating a snack. And since we were about to put our shoes on and leave, I removed Little Man’s water floatie while I set about packing up and coaxing the girlies out of the water.

And lo and behold, all it took was my eyes to be on another child and our scattered belongings for Little Man to make it back into the water (with no float), where he was struggling underneath, desperately trying to tread in place and bob his head above the surface when I looked over and discovered him. 

It couldn’t have been more than 20 seconds from start to finish, but the fear of that moment (for him and for me!) was such a terrifying but wonderful and much-needed reminder at the start of the swim season.

Because the fact is: I am just one person with three little ones to look after, and as much as I can scan and be alert and be on it, the danger is there at all times while they are so young. 

I mean, I was right there, literally six feet from where he was struggling in the water. And there were two other adults right there, as well. But it can happen in a blink.

So whether the kiddos like it (and really, the only one who sometimes protests is Chica), the floaties stay on.

Until they are older and possess a greater upper body strength to help them tread and make it to the side of a pool, it’s just a must. 

I am the final defender of their safety in the water, and I so badly want them to continue to adore the water like they do.

So note to self and anyone else who enjoys water fun with us this summer: my babes will be floatie fans so they can enjoy the ever-loving crap out of the water like they always have.

And I’ll keep them in those dang swim lessons to give them every ounce of confidence and skill that I can!

(Thus endeth the terrifying pool incident of May 2018. And now on with the FUN.)