Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Ultimate Job... Life Guard

Wow!  What a weekend!!!  I'm not even quite sure where to start today so how about I begin with a huge THANK YOU to everyone out there???

On Saturday the blog hit 5000 page views.... WOW!  If anyone is keeping track (OK, me!), that's in 101 days.  Incredible!!!

I remember when it was coming close to 300.  I was at work that night and all I could think about was when it was going to happen.  Tonight?  Tomorrow?  I simply couldn't imagine such a huge number.

And then when it hit 1000 page views, I cried.  I couldn't believe it.

Now it's 5000 and I am still in disbelief.  This blog would be nothing if it weren't for all of you who read it, post it, pass it along.... 

You have made My Name Is Not Autism what it is today - 5100 page views in 335 cities, across 14 different countries.  Amazing....

So thank you, my friends.  Thank you.

Enough of the love fest.... on to Sean....

Like I said, I don't even know where to begin today.  So many things bopping through my head....

I just dropped him off at school.  Yes, I remembered his watch!  And, with the temperatures soaring into the upper 80's, I also remembered the deodorant.

Yea!  A good day for me....

He seems off this morning and I'm not sure why.  Carissa is euphoric over heading into the final stretch of school.  Nine days and counting...  Sean, however, seems exhausted with the idea of returning to the rigors of academia. 

Other than gymnastics practice and a graduation party on Saturday, we kept his extended weekend fairly low-key.  We gave him plenty of computer time - although he was certainly annoyed when someone else needed the desktop to complete a task.  His only chore was picking up the dog poop in the yard - something that he had to be rushed through on Sunday before the storms hit.  Ever since Whizzer died last year (my 14- year old, black Siberian Husky mix), Sean has encountered his own recession.  At ten cents a pile, and his supply cut in half, he has found his job not as financially rewarding as it once was.

Once the storms passed on Sunday, the sun and heat emerged for Memorial Day.  The local pools were open and Carissa asked if we could go swimming.

Having stayed up past 2 am on Sunday night/Monday morning to watch a movie with Rich and Ashley waking me up at 6:30 am, I was more in the mood for sitting on my butt than splashing around.

However, Rich came up with an excellent solution.  He would drop Sean and Carissa off at the pool for some much-needed away time from the parental unit, and then meet them there an hour later with Ashley.  I would get mommy-time to relax, nap, do whatever I please.

Sounds like a win-win to me!!!  I take them to the pool almost every day during the summer so skipping out on one trip would not cause an un-recoverable deficit for my tan.  Besides, there is nothing better than torturing oneself by doing intervals on the exercise bike while watching a Barry Manilow concert on DVD.  I am all about mommy-time!!!!

Dropping the kids off at the pool is something that we started late last summer.  And it was Carissa, not Sean, that was able to visit the pool first with her friends.  Of course, I was nervous but I work for the park district... I know a number of staff.  If Carissa was going to misbehave, I was going to hear about it.

Letting Sean go with Carissa was something entirely different.  Will he pay enough attention and stick by her?  Will she stick by him or ditch him at the first sight of one of her friends?  Will they get along?  Will they conspire to be unruly?

"No toilet bowl, no deep end" I would say as they would leave.  The "toilet bowl" is a big, swirling, dump you into the drink, kind of attraction.  I've done it once - and was terrified to find myself completely disoriented under water.

They would answer "I know, I know" and leave me at the car with hardly a glance back.  Off they would go, practically giddy to be without the ever-watchful eyes of mom upon them.

Even though I was a wreck while they were gone, they had a fabulous time.

Thus, a new age of independence was born.

Years ago, could I have ever imagined a day where I would drop Sean off with anyone at the pool?  Could I have ever imagined not being there every single second of his world?

No.....  I couldn't.

And while I watch Carissa grow and become more independent... wanting to go here or there with her friends... I don't have the luxury of an established break-in period that I should have had for a second child.  She has overtaken Sean in spreading her wings and concurrently shredding the apron strings.

I'm glad she's there.  She will probably be more of an influence on him growing up than me.  Sean will see what Carissa is doing and want to do the same.

Of course, that will not always be a good thing.  So I guess I get to keep my job of overbearing mom for a little while longer.

It is, after all, just the pool.

It's not like he's driving... yet.

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