We’ve talked about it since then, with me gently suggesting that his boycott is likely not going to change many rules but learning to swim 10 metres will mean that he’s ready when he is six, so we’re going back.Įlliot will have you know though, he is not talking to that lifeguard. Ellie felt this was most unfair and arbitrary, and on the way home he bitterly declared that we were never, ever going back, with exactly a tone of voice that implied that this decision would surely breed deep regret in the heart of the callous lifeguard. His current record is swimming about three metres without a life jacket and we have an understanding that it needs to be about ten metres before he gets more independence at the pool, but I think he liked the idea that getting onto the water slide would be more about skills he could work on and attain at any moment, rather than something stupid like the sun needing to rotate more times around the earth, which is hardly a thing he can speed up.
Last week Elliot made his case to the lifeguard quite passionately, pointing out that letting a non-swimming six year old go on the slide but relegating a swimming five year old to the shallow end seems quite unreasonable and not based in any sort of logical system but the lifeguard was completely unmoved, shrugged, and said “You have to be six, kid.”Įlliot’s rage was complete, though it is worth noting here he is not yet a proficient swimmer. Elliot feels (and I think the kid has a point) that pool independence should be based on swimming ability, not age. We have decided to return despite injustices perpetrated upon Elliot’s person last week when it turned out that you have to be six years old to go on the water slide, not five- and when we were told that I have to be an arms length away from him until he reaches that magic age as well. Today is predicted to be ridiculously hot so after talking it through, we’re going back to the “big pool”. The poncho is here pictured yesterday at the park, where Ellie and I have been hanging at the wading pool. Should I be doing something about the way the whole house is slightly sticky? Should I be working so that I can ride for a week without the pressure and guilt of abandoning the only thing paying the bills? If I was clever, yes. Should I be organizing the family for my absence? That would be best, yes. (Actually I did that yesterday.) Should I be finding and packing my camping stuff? Absolutely. Should I be out riding hill repeats? Yes. I keep trying though and this week I’m plowing away on it like it will be the perfect thing to wear on a week long charity ride. I got mine from The Artful Ewe.) I remember seeing this pattern knit in that yarn as a sample and really loving how it looked – part of that whole “post apocalyptic my clothes are all rags but I look fabulous anyway matrix-ish” vibe that I always aspire to but somehow always ends up making me look rather scruffy instead of chic. (Pattern is River Ripples, and the yarn is Tokeland Hemp – Rain Shadow Farm. Every time I think about how much needs doing between now and Sunday, I just knit another repeat. I know, that’s an unlikely sentence but it’s working for me. Sure, you might think that packing and organizing and actually doing some of the things on my list would help, but I am taking the edge off of this thing by ignoring it all and knitting on a hemp poncho. That means I have FOUR DAYS and every time I think about it I get a slightly hysterical feeling in my stomach that I am fixing the way I always have, and that is with yarn. Today I have Elliot, the house, laundry and Patreon prep to manage, tomorrow I have to pack, pick up my bike from the shop and film, and Saturday I have to drop off all my stuff for the Rally at packing day and edit the video from the day before, and Sunday we leave. That’s what I’m doing this morning as the reality of what I’m doing this week sinks in. I don’t know how you handle it, but when I feel things start to speed up I like to sit down with a cup of coffee, make some lists and try to pull things together in a concrete way.
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