Swimming in the Susquehanna
Nicole and her friend Cassie braved the Susquehanna River yesterday. I was ready to give her Cipro before she went in, I haven't been encouraged by what I have heard about the cleanliness of the river, but they had a ball. And I absolutely am suffering from fourth child syndrome.
We picnicked at a campsite along the river and ate delicious food...(back to that nasty topic) but I'm kind of with you on the eat small, satisfying morsels of what is really, really good. And that was what I did. I managed to go for a walk and have a pretty low key day.
But I made up for it today. I am just beat. A doctor's appointment with my mom, several errands, getting Matt psyched and out the door for school and a long walk followed by some door to door Sheetz coupon selling for a fundraiser for Nicole...
And tomorrow I am leaving for Atlanta till Sunday and haven't packed a thing and have to take my mom to another appointment tomorrow...and still work out some logistics for getting my dad to several appointments while I am away. I am definitely feeling the squeeze of the sandwich.
Once I land tomorrow, I promise to give more entertaining and contemplative observations about what it is like to take a non-compliant but complaining mother to the doctor...but for now I am hitting the sack minus the Ben and Jerry's. No, I do not need it!
Labels: Atlanta, doctor's appointment., Susquehanna River
posted by www.kathypride.com at
10:44 PM
3 Comments:
You are a good daughter. When it is your turn to be cranky and uncompliant, I hope you are treated as well. (I also hope Jesus returns before then!!)
Hi Kathy,
You are a good, and very patient, daughter. And going door to door for Nicole's fundraiser, in addition to MANY other things, makes you a good mom, too.
Okay, here's my "letting your kids swim in the Susquehanna" version of my story: when Josh and Ben were 3 and I was pregnant with Gregory, we went camping in New England (mostly Maine). We were high into potty training and sometimes couldn't make it all the way to the bath house, so we let them pee, and once or twice, even poop, in the woods. EVERY night, they leaked in their sleeping bags, and EVERY morning, I hung them on our clothes line to dry, and they would sleep again in them (yes, unwashed) that night. We actually still managed to have a great time. We were gone for nine days. One of my favorite pictures of them is from that trip, with their shorts down around their ankles and backs arched, letting it fly into the ditch by the road. There are their cute little cheeks and their "manly" stances for all the passers-by to see. Well, there weren't really any passers-by; this was rural Maine, after all.
Here's the funny part: that winter, back at home in East Greenbush, NY, my neighbor called me and asked me if I was aware that one of my twins was outside pooping in the snow in our (very small) backyard! No, I did not know, thank you, and out I ran to put a stop to this inappropriate suburban behavior. But from my 3-year old's point of view, our one bathroom was busy (being occupied by his twin) and there was our whole back yard, not being used. The fact that it was mid-winter didn't seem to bother him, and he failed to see the difference between pooping in the woods that past summer and what he was doing now.
Actually, I don't know what connection you might make between this story and yours about Nicole and Cassie in the river, but it's what popped into my head.
Love,
Katy
I think the connection between Nicole and swimming in the Susquehanna is that raw sewage sometimes gets dumped into the river.
One of the biggest hangups I had to overcome was peeing in the water when we went Scuba Diving. I drank way too much coffee in the am before going out on the boat for dives, and it is a well known if not as frequently admitted fact that if you have to pee while diving, well you just pee. And if you're cold it may just warm you up! But there was something about peeing through the wet suit with all those people around that just was a huge barrier for me. Thankfully, I finally got over it. It was pretty painful riding those choppy, bumpy boats back with a full bladder.
My mom has actually thanked me a number of times for going along to all the doctor's appointments, so I guess I am behaving myself. :)
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