It took us 9 minutes to walk to the pool. R/A walked along the double stroller and W rode in the front. I was hoping E would fall asleep by the time we got there but she did not. I was worried she would start crying while I was in the pool and not able to hear her, but it was so warm that she feel asleep soon after we got there. A helps me open the gate and we found a table under the shade. We all took our shoes off and each kid held their floaties for me while I got undressed. I made sure E was okay and then we headed for the pool. In order for me to put their arm floaties on, their arms needed to be wet so we sat on the steps and each kid got their arms wet. I was worried about W being patient but he was fine. I got all the arm floats on, and then we swam in the shallow end for a while. As W got more confident, we moved to the 4 ft water and all three of them jumped off the side into the pool. If I'd had my camera, I would've taken a video of it, but I did not. Even W was jumping in without holding my hand! We did that for a long while and then went to the deep-end to try the diving board. A was the first one up and he was a little nervous but eventually jumped. R didn't hesitate at all! W walked to the end, but chickened out and got off. W and A wanted to go back to the 4 ft section so we did. Around 12:00, we got out for lunch. All the kids ate (I did too) and it was a nice rest out of the sun. After lunch, I let them swim in the shallow end for another 15 minutes before getting out to talk home. I knew it would be about a 10 minute walk home, so I worked the clock backwards to get out at 12:40. It took around 10 minutes for me to get them all out, dried, changed, and ready to walk back. I think we walked in the house at 1:02, which was fine. E was still passed out, so I hung the towels up to dry, found something on TV and nursed E. All the kids napped that afternoon and I got some housework done.
I look forward to the day when the pool is relaxing, but I know that's several years out. Even after my kids learn how to swim, I don't think I'll be able to totally relax. I will still want to watch them, but lets face it, that's my job. I get annoyed when I see parents at the pool (or the park, mall play area, chick-fil-a, etc) on the phones instead of watching and interacting with their kids. I don't have a smart phone and I will resist as long as I can, because I do not want the temptation of always having facebook accessible to me. I know how I would be, and I'd rather not put myself in that position. For now, I'm fine with my 'dumb' phone.
