Boy in the Bubble

It finally feels like summer! We had one of those 'I'm melting' kind of weekends, and it actually felt good! We sat on the back patio when it cooled off (to 80 degrees) in the evenings, and we grilled hamburgers on the porch because it was too hot to cook in the kitchen. Oh! Oh! We even ate watermelon! Yes, summer is officially started.

The pool has been in constant use for a few days now, and Scotty (with his green cast) was watching sadly from the sidelines. No matter how many times I asked them to please don't splash so hard, it only deterred them for seconds before their excitement creeped back up to levels I can only describe as 'obnoxious, bordering on beligerent'.

But, as Erik loves to tell me, I'm an accidental Taoist; meaning I don't know anything about Taoism, but apparently we share an unerring to desire to 'let it be'. I do not resist what I cannot change. If the dog insists on digging in the planter, for example, I move the plants. If the kids refuse to put their shoes in the closet, I set a basket for them next to the couch in the living room. For some people, it may appear that I am weak or unwilling to discipline. But the truth is, I was raised to 'not sweat the small stuff', and the corollary, 'it's all small stuff'. I don't want to spend my whole life angry about shoes or yelling at the dog. So this works for me.

And, since the kids were having too much fun to worry about where the water was going when they were splashing, I ran into the garage, grabbed a plastic bag, and tied it over Scotty's offending arm.


He loved it so much that he wanted to keep it on the whole rest of the day, even when they were riding their bikes in the court, and during dinner too. I was able to convince him that he wouldn't need it for bed.