Pushed In

What is your choice method of getting into water? Pool. Ocean. Lake. River. Doesn't matter. When you stand at the cusp of a body of water, how do you prefer to get in? I think there are three methods. 


1. Inch-by-Inch. There are those who prefer to take things slow. This is the person at the beach who puts their feet in the sand where the waves crawl up. They spend the next 10 minutes surveying the scene like a lifeguard. After a while they'll go ankle deep. Then they go waist deep but still keep their arms hoovering above the water. They do that perfectly timed half-jump over the wave so not to get the water higher than their arm pit line. Takes about 45 minutes, but the inch-by-inchers soon find themselves submerged.


2. All At Once. These people are funny to watch. Before jumping in, they take off their sunglasses and watches so fast you'd think they're on fire. Almost like it's a race to jump in. Hot water. Cold water. It makes no difference. These people will negotiate the shock of the water temperature when they're in it. 


3. Pushed In. These people don't have much of a choice of how they're going to get in the water. They stand at the edge reaching in to grab the pool thermometer, or a stray noodle; then find themselves (and cell phones) trying to negotiate which way is up from the bottom of a pool. When someone is pushed in, they have to figure out how to handle the situation whether they like it or not.


Wife went back to work because her 12 weeks of maternity is up. She's got overnights and that means I've got the Kicker to myself for 36 hours a week. I spend all day at work and have to hustle home so she can catch some sleep before her shift starts. She leaves. Then she's back home in time so I can go to work. I confidently reassured her that everything would be fine while she was gone. But I sat up a while those first nights trying to negotiate in my head if I could handle a kid by myself for three nights a week.


We were pushed in the pool. We didn't really have a chance to step in a little at a time, or slowly get used to a new routine. And we certainly didn't jump willfully in to the new routine either. The dictating conditions pushed us in to the pool of our new routine. Now it's up to us to figure out which way is up and adjust accordingly. 


Thankfully, we manage. While adjusting was difficult at first, we've settled in to something that works. Me and the Kicker waste evenings away learning Free Falling on the guitar - he sings backup. Then we catch episodes of Lock Up on Netflix every morning. Wife wants to make up all the time she missed during her days off, and that gives her a chance to be with him. 


Despite the shock of being pushed in, we've surfaced. And the water's fine. Perfect time for a swim.