Tag Archive for 'Swimming'

A Day at the Beach

Published on August 24, 2009 in Family, Japan and weekend. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Today we were planning on going to Enoshima for a dash in the sand and a splash in the water. A late night out last night for me and an early morning dentist appointment for Tamie almost put a kibosh on those plans. Fortunately, Layla didn’t wake up until almost 11, giving me enough recovery time, and Tamie’s dental appointment ended quickly enough that our plans could still go on, as planned.

We got off to a bit of a late start but we were on the train to the beach by early afternoon. As we moved closer to our destination, Tamie mentioned in passing that she was a tad hungry. Five minutes after that, I was ravenous. By the time we pulled up to the station at Enoshima it was all I could do not to eat Layla’s kid snacks we had stashed for later. Deciding to grab a small bite to eat before we set out for the fun in the sun, I was pleasantly surprised to find the small restaurant we went to had cheap(ish) beer — only 500 yen for a Corona! Contrast that with the close to 800yen we paid just the day before at lunch at the Outback.

After getting our fill of food and drink, we headed off to take a look at the ocean. Unfortunately, due to the million and a half other people with similar ideas of weekend fun, the ocean was nowhere to be seen between the sun umbrellas and beach bunnies. Fighting through the crowd, we eventually made it down to the water to find that Layla, brave as she always is, wanted to go home immediately. I’m not sure what it is about the beach but her love of water sure doesn’t extend to the Pacific.

Slowly, but surely, we got Layla to at least put her feet in the water and got it in our heads that she was ready for full out swimming. Heading back through the throngs of people to change into our swimsuits, we were anxious to get our kid over her fear of salt water. A brief stop at one of the many temporary changing areas that are set up every summer and we were ready to go! Towels and tarps in hand, we headed down to face our fears and have some fun. At least, two of us were.

After searching for what must have been minutes, we found a spot to set up our tarp (Japanese people use tarps for everything, from beach blankets to picnic blankets). As we were pegging down the big green monster, Layla’s fear got the best of her (or maybe it was the orange juice) and she ended up standing in a bunch of wet sand. Karma certainly prevailed, and then some. What better cue, though, to get her into the water?

Marching down to the edge of the water, we three moved with a resolve never before seen – nothing could stop us. Nothing, that is, except for the sight and sound of a big wave lapping up against the shore. We’d barely gotten our feet wet before Layla wanted to get out and go home. She wasn’t too keen on the whole idea of getting wet after the first few waves lightly pushed her around. Carrying her seemed like a good alternative but that too only lasted a couple minutes before she wanted to get out. Needless to say, it’s not a lot of fun carrying a kid who’s got her claws digging into your skin, screaming she wants to leave. At least she was in long enough to get the pee washed off.

So we got out and she bolted up the beach, her little legs carrying her with astonishing speed. As onlookers watched the crying white kid fly by in a cloud of sand, I couldn’t stop laughing at the sight. It was amazing, but she wasn’t stopping so we chased her down and sat on our big green tarp. She was so adamant about leaving that she started stripping right there on the tarp. Having been there not even an hour yet, it wasn’t quite time to go so we went with a different tact. One of Layla’s best known weaknesses was bubbles, and we just happened to bring the bubble set. It didn’t take long before she was anxious to play again, just this time not in the water.

So we played in the sand and we played in the mud. The bubbles didn’t actually make an appearance, being the bait in our bait and switch scheme. Besides, making sand castles and digging big holes seemed like something she was interested in. I think she’d be interested in anything so long as being in the water wasn’t involved. We sat at the water’s edge playing in the sand and Layla was getting right into it. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before a big wave surrounded us and Layla was once again racing for the safety of the green tarp and we were once again laughing and chasing her down.

This time, no amount of convincing would get her back down to the shore. Tamie even tried throwing sand on her and telling her she needed to get washed off, to no avail. The little brat pointed towards the place we changed, knowing there were showers inside to clean off. A funny thing happened, though, as she pointed to the showers. The lucky green tarp was the recipient of a second golden shower. That was all the reason we needed to get Layla back in the water, and for whatever reason she didn’t put up a fight. I’m not sure if she was embarrassed or proud of the fact she peed again. A little of both, I’m thinking.

As I carried her into the water, slowly getting deeper and deeper, she cried louder and louder. I told her if she wanted to swim back to shore she was more than welcome, but she didn’t take me up on the offer. I could only assume she was game for more. Tamie was swimming around, trying to get Layla to play. I was jumping around trying to get Layla to have fun. Layla was whimpering and putting her head on my shoulder trying to fall asleep and forget where she was. Fun times, indeed. In all honesty, with the jumping around she kind of forgot she was afraid and actually started to laugh and have fun. Finally.

It was that ten minutes of laughing and playing that I’ll remember about the day. It’s already the only thing Layla seems to remember, as on the way home she was telling us how she swam in the ocean and jumped like a dolphin. No mention of the fear, the fleeing, the panic or the peeing. Luckily for her, I have this blog and I can show her for many years to come. =)

A Lesson in Karma

Published on August 15, 2009 in Family, Parenting and weekend. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Today Tamie went out with some of her old friends and I got to spend the day with Layla. Fun times indeed.

We went for lunch before heading to the local shopping center where a ska show broke out, the second time in two weeks. Seems like ska is growing here, at least in our neighbourhood. If I knew how to upload videos on here, I would. A busy day followed with a trip to the pet store to be afraid of dogs and cats, multiple trips up and down stairs and escalators, a frappuccino at the local starbucks and barely resisting the temptation to dive into the little pool with all the other kids. It’s a tough life being a kid!

Eventually we made our way up to the kids’ floor of the department store, where there’s an area for kids to play while their parents shop. Or nap. I’ve seen both. Layla likes to play there with the other kids so I don’t mind to take her there once in a while. I think she likes to go there, though, more for the toy department right next door. In either case, I don’t really mind it so long as she continues to not ask us to buy her anything.

This particular evening, Layla was looking at an arcade game while another kid stood beside her watching along. Everything seemed normal enough until, all of a sudden, the floodgates opened and the girl beside Layla was standing in a puddle of her own urine. I was in awe. It wasn’t just a trickle – it was a raging river of pee and Layla was fortunate not to get drowned, let alone splashed. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing at the scene.

I did what any sensible parent would do and called Layla over to me so she’d put her shoes on and, more importantly, not step in anything. While she was putting her shoes on, all the while telling me at the top of her lungs that the other girl peed on the floor, two other kids went to check out the arcade game. The urinator stood innocently by as Layla laughed. The smaller of the two new kids went for a spill… it was disgusting, and I bit my tongue. Layla wasn’t as sensitive to the situation, laughing away. I’m not sure if she knew exactly what was going on, but she sure seemed to.

At this point, the mom of the two new kids showed up and realized that the youngest kid was flailing around in someone else’s mess – I think he was doggy paddling but it was hard to see with the tears in my eyes. I wasn’t laughing, but I’m pretty sure my tongue was bleeding by this point. By the time Layla had her shoes on and was ready to go the poor mom had her kid up and out of the deep end of the pool, all the while trying not to touch him. During all this commotion, the urinator still stood by watching – her parents were nowhere to be seen.

Before we left to go home, I went to try to explain to the toy department lady exactly what happened. I really don’t know how to describe what happened in Japanese and the closest I could come up with was there was water on the floor… I hope she was careful when cleaning up that water.

As we were leaving, Layla ran ahead a few steps, as usual. Reckless, as usual. Only this time, she slipped and fell hard. It was with great relief that I picked her up and she was dry (except for the big tears streaming down her face), the only damage being a bit lip and a bruised ego. I’m not sure why she slipped as she’s usually pretty sure footed, at least on flat ground. She cried so hard that I ended up buying her some ice cream in the hopes that the cold treat would keep her lip from swelling too much and keep her crying to a minimum. It worked, on both counts.