A couple of days ago, I wrote about a pretty major change in my life. I have really started to slow down and enjoy my experiences more. Oddly enough, this epiphany occurred at my daughter's birthday party this past weekend.
My favorite sight of summer is watching a cartoon snowman melt and die... wait no it's not.
We scheduled a party for MJ and her friends at a local pool. My daughter loves to swim. Unfortunately, June in Chicago is anything but predictable so we had to hold the party at an indoor facility. Sure enough it was a gorgeous day.... but we would be trapped inside.
When we arrived to set up, I felt I had won the lottery! There was an outdoor aquatic park attached to the facility. Ok I exaggerated a bit. It wasn't quite "lottery win/tell your boss to go to hell" excitement... but it was really awesome to know I didn't trap a bunch of 10 year olds inside on one of (and possibly the only) nice days of a Chicago summer.
Because both locations were fun and the pool was a bit crowded, it wasn't exactly easy to keep track of a dozen 10 year olds. My wife and I needed to split up in order to supervise both areas. After roshamboing to see who would patrol each area, my wife claimed her victory and chose to stay inside (We played best two out of 3. I lost both times. This was probably because I was the only one who could actually get kicked in the bal... never mind).
Do I want to try best of 7? No. Please. You win.
While I was outside, I did something amazing (at least for me). I kept my phone in my pocket. Instead of looking at sports scores, entertainment news, annoying articles about the Kardashians, or even checking steemit, I just sat in a chair and observed.
Although I truly saw a lot of amazing images that afternoon, one in particular caught my eye.
No it wasn't this...
Do you know how difficult it was to find a relatively tasteful photo in order to make this joke? Wait. No one is actually reading this caption are they?
I saw two young parents with their approximately 18month old little girl. I witnessed excitement, joy, fear, wonderment, nervousness, and pain. (Oh and the toddler showed some emotions too).
I could tell these parents only had this one child. How could I tell? Both of them were playing with her at the same time. They did not have to split their attention. The fact that neither of them was sitting in the corner rocking, crying and dreaming of sleep was also a dead giveaway.
But what really tipped their hand was the ridiculous amount of caution they were showing. (Ridiculous to a parent with more than one child that is. When we had our first, my ridiculous caution was more than reasonable). Actually that is inaccurate. The mom was being way too protective while the dad wisely shut his mouth, nodded and said, "Yes honey. I will catch her every time she comes down this 3 foot long slide into the very shallow and safe water covering the soft rubber pad at the base of the slide." By the way, this is not a sexist thing at all. I think there is always one overly-cautious parent. In my family, it is me.
This is utterly ridiculous... look at those toes! His parents are just begging for a good stubbing or ten. Don't even get me started on the dangers of not wearing metal gauntlets.
It was such a beautiful site. The mom walked the baby up to the top of the slide every time. She carefully held her and waited patiently for big kid after big kid to cut in front of her little treasure. Then the mom would take a deep breath, hold it, and finally let go. The woman's hands were immediately and instinctively drawn to her mouth. Would her child make it safely all the way down the 36 inch long slide? Would her husband remember to catch the baby? Would a seagull swoop in and steal the child? Would her entire world be ok? Only after baby was safely in daddy's arms did she release her breath.
Then she started the process again. And again. And again.*
Man I wish I could be as happy as kids are!
Each time, the baby safely shot into her daddy's arms. Each time, mommy sighed and smiled... until the one time she didn't.
Thanks to my newfound ability to really take in a situation, I noticed the dad was getting a little annoyed. He wanted his child to feel the adventure of the slide. He kept getting more and more daring and caught the child later and later.
Finally, he stepped back and let her slide on her own.
Of course this was the one time she actually lost her balance. She flailed toward the end of the drop, flipped over, and landed completely submerged in the water. Mom gasped. Dad leapt. Baby popped up, got startled, looked around, took a deep breath and... giggled.
She giggled like she had just experienced the greatest joy of her life. Actually due to her lack of object permanence, it was the greatest joy of her life... too bad she was about to forget it again in 5 seconds.
But that is ok. Because that means the next time down the slide will be the greatest joy of her life... until her next time down.
After a quick diagnostic check by dad, baby was motioning to be put back down. Still smiling, she trudged through the thigh deep water (Well her thighs at least. To everyone else it was only one foot deep).
She was clearly not an accomplished walker just yet. With each step she wobbled just enough to make her dad place his arms in the "ready position" just incase she fell. But she didn't. She wobbled to the stairs, took her mother's hand and wobbled up each step. Of course each step was an adventure of its own. Her tiny legs couldn't even come close to taking each step in stride. As she approached each step, she placed one foot on it, then mustered up the perfect combination of strength and balance to bring her other foot to join the first one on each stair. Then she repeated the very difficult process until she finally reached the top of the slide. Next, she sat down, grinned ear to ear, and waited for her mom to give her a little nudge. Her mom obliged and I witnessed a baby experience the greatest joy of her life... just like she did 60 seconds earlier.
Wouldn't it be awesome if we all could experience the best thing ever... every 60 seconds?
So what is one of my favorite sights of summer?
I enjoy watching a toddler and his/her parents having fun in a pool... and reminiscing about when I was that new, overly-cautious parent who was living and dying with each tiny step my child took... and reveling in his joy.
Now it is your turn. What is your favorite sight of summer?
*Here's a little piece of advice: don't ever do something once with a toddler unless you are willing to do it 1 million times.
My favorite sight of summer has been having time off from school. I have been absolutely swamped with school and work for the past 9 months. Now that I have had more free time I have found great interest in Steemit and gotten back into running. Today I went to the coffee shop, posted an article, went for a 4 mile run and then made a salad with salmon with my girlfriend! It was a most excellent summer day! Glad to hear you are also enjoying the simple things in life more! Thanks for the post.
I am very happy that your life has slowed down a little bit. It sounds like you had a great day! I hope you have many more of those this summer!
You were right @hanshotfirst , nobody was reading that caption ...
My favorite sight of summer?
Images 3
My favorite summer sight?
A beautiful wave rises up from a southerly direction. It peaks, and starts pealing left just in time to pick me up and transport me, like a roller coaster on which I can steer, all the way into the cove... ;)
😄😇😄
Of course! I really hope this post brings out some more surfers!
Festivals, beaches, tan and women summer dresses ;)
Oh man. I forgot that when I was young, we'd hang outing Chicago during a week day. Lots of wonderful sights to see...
I love seeing people in swimming suits that they should not be wearing. I always get some old man in a speedo.
LOL. Oh that is a good one. Nothing wrong with a little humorous people watching.
Seeing green grass, flowers and Bees , birds plus butterflies doing their thing early summer morning is a great summer sight for me. Thanks for sharing
All sound beautiful! Enjoy your summer!
you too buddy, following you for more good posts. Lets stay in touch
crowded beaches are another great sight for summer ..
I agree 100%! man I love summer!
and summer fruits too :) @hanshotfirst
I wasn't even thinking about the food. Thanks for reminding me!
haha :D
Nature at it's finest and yes I'm talking about women :)
LOL.
Perfect situations like these :)
Oh yeah! I can't argue with that! Is that a boat at the bottom?
No boats here!
Oh man, my old eyes were playing tricks on me. I thought that was an outline of a boat. Its the sun! I'm an idiot. LOL
Ice cream and the smell of sun tan lotion :)
Yes and Yes!!!!
I love summer, as long as it's not 90 degrees!
Yeah it got crazy here. It was below 70 every day for a month then all of a sudden 95! But more excuses to play in the water!
summer is great, beach time! Fishing and all that good stuff! followed and upvoted!
Yeah! That is what I want to hear. People thinking about all the fun that lays ahead of them.
Wonderful. I need to follow your lead and slow things down a bit!
LOL. You know me man. I'm nowhere near as calm as I should be... but I'm trying!
Your post makes me homesick. Left Chicago for LA a long time ago. Love the weather here but Chicago will always be home.
Go hit the beach! I bet that will help ease the pain a bit lol.
But I understand.
I read the pretty lady caption!! But it did take a couple of attempts ;0)
My favourite sight of the summer is the baby ducks and swans in the park. A tad boring but that is also the park that is frozen solid for the other ten months of the year so that might be a sight too!
that's what I'm talking about! the simple things in life are awesome. You being able to read the caption is nothing short of amazing!
And that was no simple thing!!! :0D
I love the Water Mist Fans at Waterparks!
Oh yeah. I like when a zoo has a random mister every once in a while. Very refreshing!
Hi Hans this is a very nice post and made me think back to the time when my two boys were small and I was that over protective parent. I can now look back and just laugh about it, those were awesome times!
LOL. Oh yeah I laugh at myself all the time! But as soon as you have that second, you don't have as much time to be cautious.
That is also true, I was much more lenient with the second one. :-)
I love all kinds of :) just to be at sea
Very nice. I'm not a sailor but I'm sure its beautiful.
Thank you!
I agree with the happiness,they know how to make you laugh.
Its their greatest talent!
This also applies to some dogs.
Also, my favorite sight of the summer is probably... summer dawn and dusk, something about the gradients in the sky, dim illumination, and transition from a quiet environment to a highly active one (and vice-versa) gets to me.
Very cool observations.
Nice catch about the dogs. I don't have one... but I have two kids so I can relate lol.
I'm one of those new parents with just one child! My wife and I definitely try not to be the "helicopter parents", but we definitely catch ourselves being over-protective at times. I'm sure once we have another child in the future (at least a year in the future), we'll settle down a bit for the second one!
Man I was out of control until we had our second child. I was worried about everything. Didi't have the time to be as worried second time around lol.
Good luck!
Haha, that's exactly what I am expecting.. Once the second child comes around, the first one is running around (and you're chasing them), and the second one is the needy newborn, followed by needy 3 month old, followed by a teething 6 month old with sleep regression thrown in the mix, followed by a 9 month old standing up and trying to walk .. all the while you're still busy chasing the 2+ year old around and trying to field all of their questions about the cosmos!
Thanks :)
The first one becomes a "free range" child. LOL
Olaf!:) I feel about summer exactly like him:) Miss it in winter (a bit), and suffer from heat when it comes:)
LOL. Yeah I always long for summer... until it hits 95 (Fahrenheit).
An Ocean sunset on a hot summer night is my favorite sight.
Oh I wish I lived on a coast right about now.
I'm from New Jersey and it's insane how this place turns around in the summer. I mean I'm very happy person but its a big downer here in the winter. However, summer comes around and everyone just lights up and gets happy and active! My favorite aspects are surfing, swimming in the ocean, growing my vegetables, watching sunsets, and going for moonlit bike rides. Give thanks!
Fantastic answer! That all sounds awesome! Happy summer!
After living most of my life in the northeast, I moved to Florida. I now have a continual summer and I absolutely LOVE it! :) What do I love the most about summer? The flowers! Wearing sandals everyday! Not having to brace for the cold when I go outside! Actually, my list could go on and on!
LOL. I'm sure it could! Cold mornings are the worst!
Also when coming out of someplace like a restaurant after dark. I brace, anticipating the blast of cold but instead I feel a warm, balmy breeze! CAN'T BEAT IT!!!! :)
Oh yeah. I ge that completely. Sun is down. Mind says "You are going to freeze". Nope! Its awesome!!!
Exactly! My mom says she braces still too! Natural reaction when you are used to Nor-Easters!
my favorite sight of summer is the time when lying on the sand with sunglasses casting glance at bikinied girl, how amazing is it/
LOL. Very stealthy!
picnic with myfamily @hanshotfirst ^_^
Very nice. That is fun!
yeah family is number one for me @hanshotfirst
Nice! They should be. Have a great summer.
thanks you @hanshotfirst for great post ^_^
This was such a fantastic story. It brings back so many memories. One in particular started to play as I was reading (but I still did read the captions, all of them LOL)
If you've never been to a Wegman's then let me just describe it as the BMW of grocery stores. It is massive and has everything you could ever want from Sushi to a large assortment of micro-brewed beers (hmm, my choices are revealing) It also has a candy section...a Willy Wonka style candy section, with the large tubes of color and even a train that goes around tracks above your head.
My daughter must have been about five, since I recall my son being inside the cart but talking, which would put him around two. And we were shopping with my mom- grandma. So of course when we got to the candy section Zoe gleefully ran to each different container with the large metal spoons, her eyes wide then turned and asked, "What can I have?" And my mom answered "Anything you want honey. " Yup, that's what you tell a five year old in the candy store. I was torn between being the responsible parent and frowning harshly at my mom, and not wanting to be the 'bad guy'. I chose to keep quiet, and watched as she took baggies and ran from one container to the next, scooping away. Finally she finished and skipped over to us with a dozen bags (thankfully there was only a little in each, though I knew I would still have to take them away at some point and dole them out) When she got to us she beamed and all but shouted, "This is the best day of my life!" Her expression was so jubilant that other people walking by actually paused to smile. And I said, "Wouldn't it be amazing to get this much joy from candy again?" Everyone nodded wistfully. And that was my similar epiphany style moment.
(Until later when she was mad at me for not letting her have all of the candy at once....hahaha)
Oh yeah! That is exactly what I wanted to hear. That is a beautiful story! I still believe that watching my kids have fun is better than any fun I actually experienced myself. thank you for sharing!
I'm getting to spend my first summer as a parent with an eight month old girl. I'm getting to experience all those first moments like you described and it is awesome. With little ones you can see the moment when they hit a new stage of development. My daughter just made the "ma ma" noise for the first time and learned to stand up. It's so fun to see that big old smile when she experiences something new.
That is amazing! I was lucky enough to be home for most of the first year of each of my children's lives. Greatest gift I ever received! I am so happy for you. Really drink in those moments (even when you are super tired.. which is always).
In summer I enjoy to go to the bars and dance on my favorite numbers with friends and long drive at evening when the weather is cool.
Sounds like a lot of fun!
Yup
I wish I could be as happy as kids are :)
I like B&W
No kidding! That would be awesome!
Thanks
Good :))
Ah yes Summer is the season of skin. Bring it on baby! I wish this happened more than 3 months.
Well this is first. An Andy Williams reference on steemit!
Nicely written Following :-)
Thank you.
hahahahah awesome post..!
Thanks!
My own..a lite weird though is laying @ d beach watching pretty ladies half naked walking past or swimming...love pretty sights...;)
loved ur article hanshotfirst, have u heard of sick building syndrome I think this article is important https://steemit.com/health/@whitedolphin/is-your-building-making-you-sick#comments
You are welcome.