Back In The Pool

There are some things I've come to really hate about school holidays. The hoards of children and parents, mainly, and that they always flock to the places Austin and I like to go.

It's like everyday is the weekend. Except that Kate is at work.

This school holiday there is a flipside. My mate Softy (not his real name; he's a lawyer and afraid of any unwanted publicity this blog may bring) has three days off work to look after his five year old boy.

Softy & Son were at the Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre this morning for junior's holiday swim class. This gave Austin and I a reason to take a dip somewhere other than Ian Thorpe Aquatic, and for the first time since he learned to walk.

This made things interesting.

Put on his feet in the paddling pool he instinctively looked to take some steps. Of course he did, standing still is boring and he doesn't know how to swim. Problem was, he couldn't quite make it work in waste-deep water.

Step, step, splash. Step, step, splash.

But within 15 minutes came one of the moments that make at-home parenting the rewarding thing it is. My boy figured it out. And then he was off.

Off faster than Dad could 'bum shuffle' with out-stretched hands.

Before I knew it Austin was en route to deeper waters; his adventure ending only when the water level rose above his chin, making necessary a parental intervention. But that's what laps are for, and many of these were done.

More tomorrow were it not for 'Baby Bounce & Rhyme' at the Balmain Library.

Talk about losing your inhibitions. Today the London tan, tomorrow I'll have to sing in public. Wednesday is vaccination day, however, so all I'll have to do his give him a cuddle.

I just hope that Tuesday's sing-a-long will be as short-lived as Wednesday's tears.