Beware the Ides of March! Today was not a good day for grandchildren. First mommy (Maren) left on her business trip. This caused Declan to begin crying as she drove away. Later, he ended up face planting, after falling down the front steps. He and Anne were holding onto Puck’s leash, when Puck bolted, like she always does, while going down the steps. Cuts and abrasions accompanied some more Declan tears. Not to be left out, Wyatt entered today’s tale of tragedy when Anne and I took him to very his first swimming lesson at the YMCA. Declan had taken these classes when he was Wyatt’s age. He has graduated to gymnastics, albeit at another YMCA. While we took Wyatt to swim lessons, Declan had fun with David jumping up-and-down on the trampoline. 

Somehow, I drew the short straw and was chosen to get into the pool with Wyatt. In the family locker-room, Anne changed him, while I put my swimsuit on. We were late, class had already begun, when we got into the pool. Wyatt was holding onto me for dear life, like I might drop him into the water, as if. Anytime I tried to pull him off me, he would begin crying. So, I let him hug me, while we walked around the pool. This worked for a while, but his patience with this torture eventually grew short and we had to bail. Getting out of the pool, Anne was nowhere to be seen and she had the towels. Wyatt and I were getting colder on the deck in our wet swimwear.

Eventually, she returned from the bathroom, and we could towel him off. Back in the locker-room, we changed back into our dry clothes and left. Across the street we got a snack, some coffee and a bottle for Wyatt. He fell asleep on the drive home. I hope that this gets easier, else this will be a long visit. We’ll try swimming again next weekend, hopefully with more success.