We Have a Fish

As I mentioned last week, Friday was our first pool trip to my parent's house with our son to take him swimming.  It was hot and humid on Friday, much like the rest of the week, and it was a perfect day to hit the water and cool off for a bit.  We didn't head down till early afternoon when the temperature was peaking and it was getting a little unbearable at our house.  As we had no swim trunks for our son, we decided that he would go swimming in his birthday suit and hoped that he wouldn't decide to go number two while in the water.  He had his little floating tropical island complete with palm tree for shade, all air filled mind you, and to top it off, there was even a little blow up frog for him to play with.  It was the cutest little thing.  So once we got his island blown up and in the water, our son's clothes and diaper off, we headed right in.   Seeing our son splash around in the water during his baths, we were hoping that a much larger body of water wouldn't cause him any trepidation or angst.  Well, to put it mildly, he loved it.  As soon as we got him in his little seat in his island, he leaned forward and started kicking away, slowly propelling himself through the water.  The look on his face was one of pure joy and I think if he had his way, he would have stayed in the pool all afternoon.  However, that was not the plan for him.  After about 20-30 minutes, we noticed him starting to shiver a little and consequently pulled him out to warm up. 

It wasn't that the pool was cold, rather it was a balmy 88 degrees, just warm enough to be comfortable and refreshing, yet it was still colder than the surrounding air so after a while, I could see how our son could start shivering.  When he was in the water, there was absolutely no fear whatsoever in him.  He played with his little frog almost constantly and when it started to float away, he started kicking in an attempt to move himself over so he could get it.  The only time he got a little freaked out was when he leaned a little too far forward and got a mouth full of pool water.  Neither my wife or I were that far, though, and quickly got him upright and the water out of his mouth.  Once he was done coughing the little bit of excess water up, he went right back to kicking and moving around.  Hopefully the fact that he is already kicking to move around will help him when it is actually time to learn how to swim.  In any case, after warming up for a bit and hanging out on the patio with us and his great grandmother, it was time to head back in.  The second time in the water it was just him and myself, my wife opting to lounge on the patio instead.  Again, he loved the water and kept moving around the whole time.  What we didn't take into consideration was how tiring swimming can be.  Friday finished off wonderfully with our son.  Saturday, however, was a different story. 

Saturday turned out to be a long day for our son.  He was a little more tired than usual, presumably due to the swimming on Friday, and consequently a little more cranky.  Our son managed to make it to his bedtime on Saturday, but it almost seemed as if he would go to bed an hour earlier.  Its a little tricky to figure out when our son is tired and ready for bed.  When he starts to get tired, he actually gets more active for some reason.  He starts crawling faster, taking more risks while attempting to walk, and gets frustrated a lot more easily.  The frustration is our cue that it is time to settle down and start getting ready for bed.  It could be any number of things that sets off his frustration from being taken away from playing with delicate things or even just sitting down from a standing position.  It takes vigilance on our part when he is tired to make sure that he doesn't push himself too far.   Not everyone can tell he is tired unless you know what signs to look for.  My parents came over on Saturday to babysit while my wife and I headed out to a party.  They came over a little early to see our son before he went to bed.  My dad commented that our son didn't look tired and didn't seem to be acting tired either, yet he was.  Its the little moments that paint the big picture with him and luckily my wife and I can catch them and whisk him off to bed.  In any case, it was a fantastic weekend with my wife and son and I can't wait till the next one. 

First Pool Day

Today will be my second Friday taken off to spend with my son and wife.  Last Friday didn't really feel like a day off because it was a little hectic in the morning trying to pack up our car and get everything situated so we could leave for Vermont.  Well, today will be the polar opposite...I hope.  Today there will be no packing of cars or extensive traveling (not that traveling to Vermont is necessarily extensive).  Rather, it should be a nice relaxing day with only a few errands to run and a trip to my parents pool in between.  The trip to my parents pool will be our son's first experience with a pool.  He has seen one before, but has never been in one up until today.  I have a feeling that once he gets in, (in his little floating contraption of course) he will absolutely love the water and probably not want to get out.  However, with him being so young and not entirely able to regulate his body temperature as of yet, he will have to get out after a little while in the pool  to take a break before getting back in there.   In addition to not being in there for too long, the water has to be at least 84 degrees so that his body temperature doesn't drop too much.  Thank goodness my parents have a heater for the pool which will maintain a nice consistent temperature for us.  At this point, our pool trip probably won't last too long, but just long enough for our son to enjoy himself in the pool and for us to cool off. 

I could have taken the fourth of July off like most other people and spent the day at home with my wife and son, but instead, I decided to work so I could take today off.  It was actually quite nice working on the fourth of July because everything was really quiet in the world.  There was absolutely no traffic in the morning and relatively little throughout the day.  Many people wondered why I was working, but understood completely once I explained that I would be giving myself a three day weekend instead.  So today when everyone else is going to work, I will be relaxing and enjoying myself.  Not only do I get to spend the day with my son, but I might actually be able to get a little work done around the house.  I say little just because I know that I will want to spend time with my son and the time in between will not be great enough to make a lot of progress.  So that leaves me with some time this morning and also this evening to work on projects around the house.  We shall see what happens when all is said and done today.  For now, I am going to take my time getting ready, drink lots of coffee, and enjoy my son sitting in his high chair watching me write this post.  He is already showing signs of tiredness even though he has only been up for half an hour.  That's usually how the mornings go with him however.  He gets up, has his morning milk for breakfast, and then gets tired and ready for his first nap of the day. 

I have not had a true three day weekend in a long time and am kind of excited about it.  For the most part, the majority of our three day weekends are spent in Vermont, which is great, but I have not had a three day weekend at home doing nothing for a while.  It will probably fly by way too quickly and I will be back at work in the heat on Monday morning.  Such is life.  For now, I will sign off early because my son wants to have a high pitched screaming match with me.  He gets his voice as high as he can, followed by me doing the same, and so on and so forth.  Its a fun little game although for those of you who know me, my voice is very deep and for me to reach a high pitched note takes quite a bit of effort.  Oh well, on to the day and the wonderful weekend.  Till next week, enjoy the weather and be well.

Independence Day

The United States of America officially turned 236 years old yesterday and I think that in light of everything that is going on in the world today, perhaps we should take some time to consider where we came from, where we are today, and where we are going.  I know that I can't possibly take on the task of delving in and exploring every aspect of our country, but I can touch on a few areas that I feel are important.   So to get started, it is important that we look back to our founding fathers.  There are a few main reasons that our country was founded and became what it is today.  Two of the biggest were to gain religious freedom and to escape the burden of excessive taxes (taxation without representation).   To put it even more simply, our founding fathers wanted more freedom than they had across the pond.  That freedom was essential to them, to create a new life for themselves based upon their ideals and morals, and to allow others the freedom to pursue their own interests.  Perhaps the other main reason this country was founded was to keep others from meddling in our affairs, to keep control of our lives to ourselves; which I guess all boils down to freedom regardless of how you look at it.  So taking that into consideration, how have we faired in keeping with the original ideals of our founding fathers?  Have we kept our spirit in line with theirs that they embodied in one of the greatest works in history, the Constitution and its partner the Bill of Rights?   Personally, I think we have come a long way in realizing freedom for many different people in this country, from the slaves who gained equal rights, to women, to offshoot religious groups, to homosexuals, and beyond.  Freedom has been a work in progress almost since our country came into being, and on that note, we have come a long way.  Have we come to afford freedom for everyone in every walk of life?  No, but we are inching closer every year. 

Yet despite our gains in personal freedom for different groups of people, our record in other areas is not where it should be in my mind.  One of the other reasons that our founding fathers created this wonderful country was to free themselves from the burden of excessive taxes and overbearing governments.   Well, my friends, it seems we have come full circle and need an awakening of sorts.  Before I begin, let me first state that taxes are necessary if we are to run a successful country, however, excessive taxation only creates disdain and disgust amongst a populace.  I feel that we have once again reached a point where taxation is at an all time high and in terms of representation, are we really being represented as well as we could be by the members of Congress?  I don't think we are.  Every year sees new taxes tacked on the growing list of items and services we are taxed for.  The latest abomination is Obamacare which as the Supreme Court called it, is really just a new tax.  Part of the problem lies in the fact that our government has gotten too large and in order to sustain a large government and all its services, there needs to be a large amount of taxes.  The two go hand in hand.  If we reduce the size of government to keep it in line with what the founding fathers envisioned, then we can inherently reduce the amount of taxes levied on each and every one of us.  What is the likelihood of that happening?  Slim to none in my mind without a new revolution (I am not advocating that option yet).  However, how much more can we take before we reach a breaking point and all the money we make gets eaten up by our government?  I don't know, but it seems that people in general are getting fed up with too many taxes and too much government intervention.  This isn't to say that efforts haven't been made to reduce taxes and the size of government, its just that those efforts haven't succeeded either because their plans were too complex and divided (the Tea Party) or there wasn't much of a plan at all (the Occupy Movement).  Something needs to be done, but it is an uphill battle and one that most people don't want to take on because it is too draining and to frustrating.

So where do we go from here?  As we approach our country's 250th birthday (still 14 years away), do we just sit by and let history takes its course, beating the populace of the United States of America down or do we figure out a way of making changes to our government and the taxes it imposes?  If we are to do anything, the time is now before it becomes too late and we have no options left.  What is needed is a plan with a simple goal that can be agreed upon by the majority.  Sounds simple in writing, but incredibly difficult in reality.  Part of the problem arises in the fact that we are such a diversified country.  We have people from every walk of life each of whom will have a different idea of what needs to get changed in this country.  That is a far cry from our founding fathers who had thousands, not millions of people to contend with.  What we really need is a leader who can stand his ground in the face of opposition, rally the people behind him/her, and make the changes necessary to revitalize our country (not another turncoat Obama).  But enough about changes for now, we have come a long way since the founding of our country and we should be proud of where we are today.  However, we can't just sit back on our laurels and let things happen on their own accord without our voice.  Let us bring back the spirit that our founding fathers had, the one that craved freedom from oppression, excessive taxes, overbearing governments, and intolerance.  It is only by reawakening this spirit that we can move forward and bring our country back to where it used to be.  Let us begin today, the day after independence day, to begin a new chapter in American history, one that sees the dreams of our founding fathers realized in full, and one that we can all be proud of.