Pride and Success for Mom

All four of us went to Rinconada pool a couple of weeks ago for this first time this year. Samuel and Shira both had a great time. And a day at the pool can always be counted upon to deliver naps for everyone involved.

And on Wednesday I braved the pool alone for the first time with two mobile children. At the end of what was a very nice day for all involved, I contemplated the pride I took in my accomplishments of the day. This led me to think about what would have made me feel proud and accomplished a short four years ago, aka THE TIME BEFORE CHILDREN.

Four Years Ago a day that would have had me feeling super proud of myself and accomplished would have consisted of the following:

Arriving at school with well thought out personally created lesson plans that were ready for execution. The plans would access students on multiple levels and make them think, but more importantly, the kids would enjoy them, and be thoroughly engaged. Have lunch with colleagues in my classroom and bitch about students or fellow teachers. I would go for a tough run at Rancho, and push myself. I would come home and make dinner and eat it with Steve.

This Wednesday a day that had me feeling proud of myself and super accomplished: I decided to go solo with Samuel and Shira to the pool. I packed water, snacks, towels, and changes of clothes for everyone and got all of us in our swimsuits. I only needed ONE bag for all of our stuff. I parked, and walked to the pool with Shira in the carrier, Samuel holding my hand and the bag over my shoulder. NO STROLLER. Shira got her time in the zero depth wading end of the pool, followed by me carrying Shira and sometimes Samuel in the deeper parts, as well as spotting Samuel on the slide multiple times.
We got out and had snacks, saw a cool butterfly, and discussed the subsequent clearing of the pool due to a "contamination" incident. Finished snacks, waited for the chlorine to clear out the "contamination", took two more turns down the slide, stripped and dried and reclothed the kids, and returned to the car the same way we came in. Two happy, not cranky kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. I came home, made dinner and cleaned the kitchen.

All the while I was thinking how awesome I am for being able to do all this, with ONE reasonably sized bag. Ahh, the life of a stay at home mom.