Yesterday I wanted to take Autumn swimming. I had it all planned out and was going to bring her to the university during their open swim time. My planning, however, did not include actually checking the pool schedule before making the 20 minute drive there. As soon as we entered the rec center we were greeted with a sign taped to the door that said, “No open swim today due to swim meet.”
Crap. So I had to explain to my daughter, who was very excited about “zooming”, that we could not zoom because the pool wasn’t open. I then drove over to the high school to see if their pool was open. Nope, it had just closed. Double crap.
Today I was determined to get to the pool, except Nathan came down with the flu last night and remained pretty useless the entire day. I think he may have created a Nathan-shaped dent in the bed while I have pretty much been going non-stop since this morning.
After feeding Autumn breakfast, lunch and then putting her down for a nap, I went grocery shopping and then came home to retrieve her for our trip to the pool. I decided to take her to the high school because it’s closer and their open swim time was close to ending, so if things went south I was guaranteed this would be a short visit.
We had a very good time and Autumn was well behaved until it was time to get out of the pool. She then decided it would be fun to run away from mommy all the way over by the deep end. I had visions of her toppling in and shouted to a young man nearby to grab her for me, which he did. I offered up some lame excuse about my bum knee, but honestly I don’t think I could have caught her with two good knees. That kids is fast and needs a tether.
Things got even more interesting after we left the locker room and Autumn discovered two flights of stairs leading to the top level of the high school’s athletic complex. No pleading or threats from me would coax her back down, so I hopped the elevator to the second floor. Just before the doors opened I heard her shout, “Mommy, where are you?” A quick snatch and grab and I had her with me in the elevator, much to her extreme displeasure.
My evening with her did not end until nearly 8:30 and I was never so glad to finally rest. I joined Nathan in bed for a few minutes and hugged my pillow close as I stretched out and moaned with pleasure. It seemed every muscle had been tense and strained all day. I watched a good half hour of the “Puppy Bowl” on Animal Planet. It was good to give my brain a rest, too.
I don’t know how single mothers do it. I couldn’t handle dealing with this kind of exhaustion on a daily basis. I really hope Nathan gets his pep back soon.
I'm Heather. I live in Michigan with my husband and daughter and maintain this little enterprise while working full time and attending grad school part time. Don't ask me how I do it because I really couldn't tell you.
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I always comment to my husband that I’m so thankful to have him. I totally admire single moms. And those stunts Autumn pulled sound just like my kiddo. She’s starting running away from me at bedtime and she got in MAJOR trouble tonight.
Hi
I found you through Meg.
The running away thing is normal, but needs serious consequences. It’s a safety issue.
Next time, before you leave the house, you must insist that she stay with you. You need to tell her the consequences. Then, if she starts to get away, remind her once. If she comes back, praise her. If she keeps going, she gets the consequence immediately.
A tether is also a good idea. I had a harness and leash for my #1 when he was little. He actually liked it. He could walk and explore, but he didn’t get too far away. He had to ask if he wanted to see something out of reach.
Do not plead - ever. They know they are in control then… You must never ever let them see you sweat. You can freak out and panic, but they must NEVER know. You must always show calm and control. They must know that you are boss - no matter what.
Best of luck to you!!
LBC
LBC,
Thanks for visiting and for the advice. We went to a different pool on Saturday, and when we were done and in the locker room, I told the kid she could not run off or else she’d get a spanking. She was good until I got her fully dressed. Then she decided to run down the locker room hallway that leads back to the pool. I called her back and smacked her on the butt. My husband said he could hear her screams out in the hallway where he was waiting.
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