We were teaching the kids to jump off of the diving board. I would sit on some kind of flotation device below the diving board, waiting to catch them until they felt comfortable doing it on their own. In order to move things along, I would try and count to three. Weston and Julia both stopped me and told me they wanted to do the counting. I guess it’s a control thing.
Then it was Conrad’s turn. Once again I tried to count, and once again he wished to do the counting…and he began: 1, 2, 3…(one would expect him to jump at this point)… 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16….(He missed a couple but kept going)…17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23……(Everyone is now watching, wondering)….24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30…(Rich is wondering how high he will go and is no longer ready to catch anybody)…31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, thirty nnnniiiiiiiiiinnnnne…and he jumps.
I promise to start posting about the other kids.
Claire and the kids were hanging out with our neighbors the other day. When it was time to leave, Weston waved and said, “I love you.” When Weston sees kids from the neighborhood across the street, same thing — “I love you.” He gets a great reaction and I wonder what would happen if an adult tried it. Next time I see someone I know, I’m going to wave and yell, “I love you.” …No I’m not.