Pool Party

Yesterday afternoon Tab took the boys to their first pool party. It was hosted by the parents of one of Daniel's classmates, who kindly included the twins in the invitation. I needed to finish a set of revises on one of my jobs for the Press, so Tab agreed to take the boys by himself. I was relieved, to be honest. I'm just not much of a party person.

The boys returned in the late afternoon, tired but happy. Poor Matthew's water fun was curtailed by his cast, however. He wore his cast cover in the pool, but Tab still didn't want him to immerse his arm fully so Matthew had to sit on the pool steps and play with a few water toys.

Stephen is at that dangerous stage of learning to swim in which his confidence exceeds his ability. He hung out by the side of the pool until he was tempted to join the throng in the middle and set out on his own. He suddenly realized he was over his head, literally and figuratively, and started to panic. He was rescued by one of the adults near by. After that, Tab made Stephen wear water wings.

Daniel, on the other hand, was the strongest swimmer there out of all the kids, according to Tab. I guess all those swimming lessons have paid off. Daniel practiced his freestyle and also enjoyed diving off the diving board.

Tab told me horror stories about Cole, Morgan's wild, uncontrolled four-year-old brother. Cole ran wild, disobeyed his parents by eating fruit in the pool, and continually snatched Matthew's water toys. Tab declared, "That kid is far worse than the three of ours put together even on a bad day."

"Mine!" Cole would shriek and grab the toy away from Matthew, behavior more fitting a young toddler than a boy his age. Daniel, who allows no one but himself to harass his younger brothers, rushed to Matthew's defense. First Daniel tried reasoning with Cole, reminding him that he already had his own squirting toy. When that didn't work, Daniel appealed to Cole's father and got the toy back for Matthew.

I'm pleased Daniel's learning to deal with these kinds of situations. I'm especially glad that Daniel is standing up for his brothers.

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