Last week we took the kids canoeing. I'm fairly certain it was the first time for all of them, though Janie has been on a jet ski. I wasn't too worried about her because she's always up for just about any adventure we could throw at her, as long as we're doing it with her.
Thomas...Thomas is a different story. He doesn't care for new situations. He is very content right were he is, thank you very much. He doesn't want to meet new people, doesn't want to try new activities.
And Berto's a baby. Opinion-wise I didn't think he'd care what we were doing. He was only going to worry about whether or not he got fed or could crawl around.
So off we go with our canoes, Jay, Berto, and I on one and my in-laws with Janie and Thomas in the other. Berto was perfectly happy being held at the water's edge, but after about thirty seconds on the water he'd had enough of his life jacket and let everybody know it. Lucky for us he still conks out when he's tired or in the sun or rocked, and, what do you know, all three converged on him and the kid passed out after about five minutes of fussing on the gentle waves of the lake. I finally know where the phrase "slept like a baby" comes from. It's this kind of 'I'm so incredibly sound asleep, even though there's no possible way I'm comfortable, that I look like I'm dead' sleep. The kid was zonked and slept for the next hour and forty minutes.
Then there was Thomas. Maybe it was because his grandparents were there, or maybe because he never actually had to get in the water, but the kid had a blast! He had his own oar and "helped" paddle the canoes around the lake. He got excited about all the boats, the bridge, the dock, and all the birds. I have never seen Thomas so happy surrounded by so much water. Seriously, try taking this boy to the pool and he gets super grumpy. Oh, he doesn't mind the ankle-deep stuff and he likes sprinklers and splash pads (but not showers) but actually getting into the pool produces tears and distress and a day full of resentment. So his excitement at canoeing was a huge and pleasant surprise.
And Janie? Her favorite part was finding the floating flowers (we found a lily pad patch). The rest of the time she just sat back with her feet up --because who wants to get their feet wet at the lake??? -- and ate snacks the ENTIRE TIME. Seriously, until the last ten minutes, every time I looked at her she had her hand in a bag of crackers or cookies or on its way to her mouth. But finally, as we headed back to shore I convinced her to sit with me and let her feet dangle in the water. She was nervous at first but eventually made her way to my lap and dropped her toe in. I don't think she ever stopped being nervous about it, but she did enjoy herself.
Oh yeah, we switched boats partway through the trip. Don't be confused.
So, though nothing really turned out the way I expected it to, we all had a great time. Happy birthday, America!
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