The Difference A Day Makes

Laura and I have been talking A LOT about swimming lessons over the past two days. She finally said something about being afraid that she would drown if she were in the water. I convinced her that her swimming teacher was quite capable of keeping her safe, and that she would never let her go, and most certainly not let her drown. She seemed hesitant to accept this information at first, but seemed to later be satisfied with this response as we continued to talk about the same things over and over again. We worked out a deal that if she did EVERYTHING that her teacher asked her to do today, that she would get to pick out a new Webkinz from our sickeningly huge stash upstairs. Most parents would have started smaller, with some more reasonable request, like "sit in the water with your friends". But we want our kids to excel.....we want the works. No playing games here. No chickens. No wimps. Only the best and finest at our house is acceptable. OK.....that's not quite true. I just know that she can do it, and that she is simply an "all or nothing" type of girl.

And did it, she did. She was like a completely different kid today. She had many smiles, kicked her feet in the water happily, and tried every single thing that her teacher requested of her. She was in the water, participating with the other kids, and even looking like she was having a good time! If I were not feeling so mentally fried these days, I probably would have cried. (In fact, the mom sitting next to me was teary eyed watching and commenting on the magnificent transformation of my daughter.) I do not have pictures of this momentous day.....I purposely left my camera at home as I did not want to bring it, possibly jinxing what had the potential to be a successful lesson.

Laura, Tubby, and I enjoyed some quiet time in the play land (Lion's Den) to ourselves. Thomas is still not too keen on the sinking feeling he gets in the large ball pit, but he sure does love to climb any lengths in order to go down those big slides! He seems to have no fear, and maybe is even a thrill seeker. Perhaps this is the one who will bring us to the ER (and also give us mini heart attacks) several times while he grows up? We have been much to lucky so far.....with all of these kids, we should have had many more visits than only a handful. At home, Laura spent the rest of her morning playing with her new Webkinz, Ruby.

Crispy and I spent another two hours on the yard, this time picking up more than 200 cords. Today was a bit more difficult, as I had to use a wire cutter to clip these cords that Bob had securely wired to various tree branches in order to maintain their proper position in all the wind that likes to howl through our neighborhood. This is such a tedious and boring task, but such a little job compared to all that Bob goes through to make such a fantastic display every year. So I will try not to complain, and instead just be grateful that Bob is so talented to bless the whole city of Waconia each year.

A call from Grandma ? alerted us to an earlier shooting that had occurred only 10 minutes from our home, in the neighboring city. The man had not been caught, and he was considered to be armed and dangerous. This put a new spin on the rest of our day. We locked our doors, and I did not let the kids hang out alone outside. We really take the safety of our little town for granted. I rarely lock my door during the day (whether home or not), and I easily let the kids wander anywhere in the city either on foot or by bike. Bad things can happen anywhere. I wonder where the fine line to staying safe is? I think I still prefer to assume we are going to be safe, than to live in fear everyday.

While driving to church rehearsal, Jonny (our worrier), spotted every green car we passed, looking for this man at large. At our favorite 3 minute stoplight, he was convinced that the green Saturn next to us was THE car. Having seen the scary mug shot of this guy on the Internet, I was pretty sure this guy would NOT be driving a well kept Saturn. Jonny kept insisting, and I kept counter-resisting.

There was a follow-up news report later this evening.....they caught the guy in a town 20 minutes away (where Melissa rides her horse). Guess what he was driving???? Jonny's too smart!!!