Last Saturday, we had our final swim lessons. Things started out relatively normal. Both Boh & Meri wanted to come into the women's locker room to get dressed for lessons. They were so good and got ready quickly. Meri had an odd little "spinning" episode, where I was wondering if she had caught my vertigo. It resolved itself rather quickly though and we went about our business. We even got Boh into the bathroom before going out to the pool. No problem! This parenting thing is cake!
Once lessons started though, I could tell things were not all a-ok with Meri. First, she didn't really want to get into the water. I got her in eventually, but then she didn't want to do any of the lesson activities. We actually had Boh in the same lesson as Meri this week, hoping things would go better for him. He was doing wonderfully! I thought she would get a kick out of doing lessons with him too! Before long though, she said to me, "I want my daddy!" Okay. Give her to daddy. We go through the lessons. Bohdan even does a dunk! (Granted, he screamed so loud when he came up from the water - he got a little up his nose). We all went to sit in the hot tub to warm up. Things are still alright.
Then, she doesn't want to get out of the hot tub. We get her out of the tub. She doesn't want us to wrap a towel around her. So we don't. Then she starts getting cold and wants a towel. We wrap her up. She's still crying about wanting back in the hot tub. I take her & Boh to the locker room to get changed. But first we need to rinse off. She doesn't want me to unwrap her from the towel. I finally convince her to get out of the towel and rinse off. Get her unwrapped. She doesn't want in the shower. Get her into the shower finally. She doesn't want to get out. Finally get her out. She doesn't want to wrap up in a towel again. At least not until she starts feeling chilly. Then she wants to be wrapped up again. But no, not in the first towel I grabbed for her, the other one. Fine. Get her wrapped in the other towel. We go over to our locker and I get Boh dressed. Then I ask her if she wants to get dressed first or if I should get dressed first. She says she doesn't want to get dressed yet. Okay. I get dressed. Now I need to dress her. I tell her we need to get her unwrapped from her towel. She doesn't want to do that. I finally convince her that we need to get unwrapped and dressed. I get her out of the towel. I fold the towel up and lay it on the bench so I can start getting her suit off. She freaks! More than she obviously had up to this point. Because these have all been little freak out sessions that are just chipping away at my patience. She has reached her threshold for what? My practically unending patience? She throws her body to the ground and is screaming. I try to reason with her and get her back up onto the bench. She keeps dropping to the floor and crying. I tell her she needs to calm down and get up. I count to 10. Twice. Finally, I pick her up and place her on the bench and try to talk to her. She continues to freak out. I tried to restrain her twice. I realize I am getting nowhere, but I have had it! So I hold her down and wrestle a diaper onto her. I pick her up off the floor and then wrestle her into a shirt. She stopped crying for about 1/2 a second while the shirt was over her eyes. Then I had to sit on her to get one of her socks on. It's at this point that I give up. I pick her up and hold her under my arm like a football. I stuff what I can into my gym back and sling it over my shoulder, then use my free hand to carry out all the wet towels. I tell Boh, who has been so sweet and so patient throught this entire episode that it's time to go and he follows me immediately.
So picture this half naked, screaming and kicking child under my arm and this little boy with a black eye (which he received about a week prior by colliding with another boy at daycare) storming out of the locker room. I'm pretty sure I roared at Jeremy when I told him we needed to go. He came running up and took Meri from me - after I had dropped all the towels on the floor. He asked where her clothes were and I told him she wasn't putting them on. I threw my coat his direction and told him he could wrap her up in that. Then Boh & I went out to the truck.
We were going to go to the store and get new batteries for their bugs. Instead, Meri & I went home, where she was promptly put to bed and I went and cried in the shower.
A few days later (after the rawness had finally subsided) I was able to start laughing about it.
All that being said, I finally understand and do not judge the women in these photos:
