First thing Saturday morning we went to the market, on the way home Briar asked:
“Can I get in my swimmy pool?”
“No, today mom and dad and are going to take you to big water. We’re going to the beach.”
“And I’ll go swimming in the beach?”
“You bet.”
She dutifully took a morning nap and ate a hearty lunch in order to earn the trip to the beach and have energy for swimming.
“We going swimmin’ soon?”
“Yup, almost time.”
It wasn’t until 4 that we finally made our way up to the lake. Briar sat perfetly still in the backseat, desperate to swim and eager to please. We stopped at three different places before finally arriving at the beach, the beach with no lifeguard on duty, this meaning we weren’t to swim. First weekend in June in Lake George, no lifeguard. Give me strength. Or give me Sean, he stomped ahead, determined to walk far enough from the main beach to allow for at least a quick dip in the lake. I followed behind, nervous about breaking rules, but hellbent on delivering on my promise to Briar.
Me: “Honey, you think those clouds are a bad thing?” There was no answer, I shut up and walked faster.
Me: “Ok girls, let’s go. Avery, c’mon honey, in the water, it’ll be fun.”
Avery: “Uh, mom, I don’t think this feels fun. “
Me: “K, Briar, your turn. Come here sweetie. Hurry honey.”
Briar: “I don’t wanna swim mommy.”
Me: “Honey, we gotta go. It’s time to swim now. A big storm is coming.”
Briar: “No, no, no mommy. Don’t swing me in the water. I don’t wanna be swimmin.”
Avery: “On second thought, while you swing Briar maybe I will go in the water.”
Me: “See, that was fun. You had fun. You swam at the beach.”
We were in an out in less than 20 minutes, huge drops of rain pelting us as we made our bittersweet way back to the car. We shared a Diet Pepsi, it was filled with sand. Our sense of failure lifted like so many clouds as the girls made the trip home as happy as if they’d spent and entire day on a sunny beach.