We’ve been on a holiday in Southern California this week and it’s been pretty darn hot, I gotta say. Typical mid-afternoon temps are in the 90s and that just gets beastly, with the heat just lingering and wearing everyone out.
Between sweating and getting cranky, it’s dangerous to be out in public around 3pm in this kind of weather, and short stints in air conditioned buildings don’t seem to help.
What is helping with the kids instead is the pool at the hotel. It affirms yet again that kids + heat + pool = all is well in the world. It’s not a big glamorous pool like the amazing pools at the hotels at Disneyworld (my favorite pool in the world is Stormalong Bay at the Beach and Yacht Club hotels there in Orlando) but it’s big enough for my kids to swim multiple times a day, diving from the edge, and splashing around.
Of course, I’m blessed with three terrific swimmers: even the 5yo dives, swims strongly underwater, and is happy to try and touch the bottom even in the 8′ deep end. Heck, they’re all probably better swimmers than I am!
What’s amazing is how easily we forget the simple pleasures of summer and how kids are still quite capable of entertaining themselves and finding things to do that don’t involve capital outlay on the part of us parents (or of their own hard-earned cash).
This isn’t to say that a stop at the local arcade isn’t appreciated, or that we can get out the door at a Target store without at least something for them to play with, but still, I’m proud of my kids for being able to just run around, shout, play, and raise a ruckus without breaking anything or needing batteries or an electrical outlet.
When I was a kid, i remember biking back and forth to my friends houses as we cruised the neighborhood looking for odd jobs (car waxing, bike repair) and having a lot of fun. The best thing about summer, of course, was that by the end of the day you were so tired from the heat and activities that bedtime wasn’t a hassle, it was a blessing.
Of course, to go to bed early because you’re tired? No, that would mean someone would probably confiscate your kid license. That still doesn’t happen with my kids either, but I am seeing them go to sleep within five minutes of putting their heads on their pillows, so I have a sneaking suspicion that they’re just as tucked out…
I hope you and your kids are having fun this summer too. If not? Check out the local pool…
Yes, we love the neighborhood pool – close enough to walk to. I”m glad to have strong swimmers too…
We have a pool across the street, but my 2 year old is also happy with a tub of water, toys and some plants to water when she is done splashing! My six year old is happy with the hose and her slide. Sometimes the pool is not even needed ;o)
Hello Dave,
Thanks for reminding me that it is a good thing that we raise our kids to entertain themselves without a constant diet of TV or Video games. Our two where raised on a 10 acre farm and they have not been damaged too badly. That is good stuff.
As a kid my brother and I would leave the house on a summer morning on our bikes and arrive home in time for supper. That was the life. Thanks, NEIL