Boat + Water + Sunshine = :)

Today I woke up sick, with a list of chores to get done and not quite the right attitude to do it. Darling Husband informed me at lunchtime that we had been invited to go boating with Darling Brother In Love's family.

I am not the boating kind of gal. I told DH that I really needed to get the house straightened up and had a whole list to do. I told him that I was not feeling well (my voice is nearly gone) and told him to take the boys and have fun. Half an hour later, DH came up to me, put his arms around me and told me that I really needed the break and "it'll be fun". I grudgingly shaved my legs, put on the swimsuit, and we headed out to the lake.

DBIL has a big boat. DBIL has a sweeeeet boat (as DS#3 says). DBIL's boat seats 18 people (I saw the occupancy limit sign stating that fact). We got in and headed out, all the kids under 12 yrs old in a life jacket. The day was in the 80's, the sun was shining, and miracles of miracles, I was starting to relax.

DS#2 got on the 3-person tube with his cousins and they started the boat. (In case you were wondering, DS#1 was at a sleepover and not back when it was time to go.) Back and forth, over the wake, some of their jumps were 3-4 feet off the water. DS#2 did not look like he was having fun. He had a look of "I had better not fall off". His two cousins went flying after a particularly big jump. When we called out to him to see if he wanted to come in he yelled "NO!" I guess he was having fun. He went out twice more, was injured once (head bump which didn't stop him), and would not have minded if we had stayed all night.

DS#3 and DD took a turn on the tube with DH. (I wanted to veto this but DH reminded me that I need to let DD live a normal life and not coddle her.) I sat in the boat with my hands near my face and my heart thumping. I knew they would drive slow, and I knew DH was perfectly capable of taking care of the little kids, and I knew that they all had life jackets on but I still worried because I am the mom. They had a great time. When it was over DD shouted "AGAIN!" They took another turn after the bigger cousins.

DH tried wake boarding and did fairly well until during one fall he suffered a nasty rope burn that transverses his entire left side right underneath the ribs. It looks painful but he has not complained. I could tell he was enjoying himself.

The best part came when we put the orange flag up and all the kids jumped in the water with their life jackets on. DD spent time with her 16 yr old cousin and friend. It took a bit of coaxing to get her back in the boat when it was time to move on. When she finally was back in, DD turned to me and said "Mom, I was mermaid!" DD had never used "was" in a sentence before. At first I was so excited at this new development until it hit me that something greater had happened. DD had connected "mermaid" with her swimming in the water and had fun pretending. The word had not been brought up before, not even when swimming during our last trip to Boise. Pretending is somewhat abstract as usually brought about with suggestions from me. This mermaid experience was all on her own.

It was a nice ride back to the marina. DD kept requesting "Little Mermaid" songs to play over the boat's sound system. The marina was crowded but the boat was loaded back on the trailer without incident. We thanked DBIL and his family and headed home. Dinner was brats on sourdough rolls, oven fries and a broccoli salad with dried cranberries and pine nuts. We're all exhausted and relaxing until bed time.

I thanked DH for convincing me to go. Even if I didn't get into the (cold!) water because of this nasty illness, the sunshine and the family time did wonders for my attitude.