Summer Days

It's crazy this week. So busy at work that I just have time to rush into my office, check voice mail, glance at email, groan at the expanding list of unread, prep for the next meeting, rush out to pick up the boys. I promised myself that tonight I would leave work at the office and be completely in the moment when I picked them up. It didn't start off so well. They're grumpy after a long day of frolicking in the surf, making sand castles and chasing the tide. Later this week they're going on a day trip to Catalina Island.

Yeah, their daycare rocks.

Still, it's a long day for a couple of five year olds and I usually bear the brunt. Tonight was no different and by the time we got home, everyone was scowling. So much for in the moment.
To diffuse the tension, I busied myself in the kitchen while they settled in to watch a little noggin. They watched, I cooked and everyone settled down. I finished up dinner and told them to go wash up. They didn't make a move. I figured they fell asleep but no, Dean wouldn't go to the bathroom by himself and Jack was just laying on the couch with his face in his hands. I asked again for them to go wash hands and then Jack looked at me and told me he was scared. I sat down on the couch, bundled him up in my arms and asked what he was afraid of.

He's afraid of the boat. And that's how I found myself in the strange position of ignoring my own fears in order to reassure my child. Naturally, I've been wrestling with this trip to Catalina. They have an hour long drive to the port followed by an hour long ferry ride to the island. Once on island, they'll play on the beach, have some lunch, do a little snorkeling and walk around the little town before they hop back on the ferry and head back to the mainland. It will be an amazing, unforgettable day for them and I don't want them to miss it -- despite my own irrational fears. But Jackie's afraid that the boat is going to tip over and that there are sharks in the water.

What? I wasn't afraid of sharks. At least, not until he mentioned them.

Luckily, Tom arrived just a few minutes later and he talked about how safe the boat is, that Amanda would never let them do something that was dangerous. Somehow, it's more believable when Daddy says it.

My schedule seems kind of light on Friday. Maybe I'll take the day off.

I hear Catalina Island is beautiful this time of year.