OK, so he had been tired that day. At home, he loves to play in the bath. He cries if you don't let him hold the sprayer, and he cries when you try to take him out unless he's had a good long play in the water (unlike his sister, who usually cries when you try to put her in.)
Besides, we live in a very hot, almost tropical country. Really, it just makes sense to play in the water. Not to Jonathan, it turns out. We did go on the retreat, and we did go to the beach. I actually forgot to bring his swim suit -- which really was fine, since he spent the entire time on Uncle Cliff's lap. He hated walking on sand, and didn't like the water even if mommy was holding him.
But I was not to be thwarted by a little thing like precedent. There's a place across from the department store near our house that's part swimming pool, part spa. I've wanted to try it out for years, but have never gotten around to it. A few months back, Cliff's mother was here for a while and spent a lot of time with the kids. She went swimming there a lot and talked about it which renewed my interest in the place. I went and checked it out, and they said they had a play area for kids Jonathan's age. The adult tickets are a bit pricey, but the kid tickets are cheap and I thought it would be worth it if Jonathan had something interesting outside the house to do that was pretty convenient for me. And, of course, I absolutely love the water. I spent my childhood on beaches, at lakes, and in pools, and I am really looking forward to having kids to spend time in the water with because Stephen's really not all that into it and playing in water really isn't the greatest solo activity. So last week when I had a week off from work, I was determined to get my act together enough to take Jonathan on our first foray into the wonderful world of kiddie pools. On Thursday night while the nanny was watching the kids I went to the mall and found a great baby swim cap and everything, which Jonathan (who is rather into hats) liked perfectly well in the living room.
So we were set. Mommy had gone on her recon mission. We had a bathing suit. We even had a swim hat. I didn't bring my own bathing suit the first day because I figured he would just be splashing around in the kiddie pool, right? Wrong. From the moment they made him go through the turn stile by himself to that blessed moment he got to put his shoes back on and return to his stroller, he was one nervous, pitiful pile of whimpers. He consented to being changed into his swim duds and went with me to the pool, but really, he was only content on mommy's lap with one, but not two, feet touching the water. A few times I walked him out a few feet and left him, so he consented to walk back to mommy through the water, but that was it. The wonderful slides and the other kids playing barely registered. The life guards' gentle urgings elicited nothing, not even a smile. And yet, mommy is determined -- this child needs his world expanded -- and besides, I paid 320 NT (about $10 US), so we were going to spend at least an hour there -- and so we did. We spent an hour dangling our feet in the edge of the kiddie pool, hopefully getting him a bit used to the place so that next time, there might be a spark of recognition -- cause really, this kid knows how to have fun in places he knows, and this is a really fun-looking place. Jonathan did consent to sitting by himself long enough for me to take a picture or two of the kiddie area to show you all.
Doesn't that look like a fun place to hang out? Now that I've seen how big the "kiddie" pool is, I'm bringing my own suit next time and hanging out there, though I'm too tall to be allowed on the slides. And who knows. Maybe with that hour of "getting used to it" time, mommy in the pool, and a time less close to nap time, the spirit of adventure may yet seize the child. A mommy can always hope.
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