Swimming

Today is Zuzu's final day of swimming lessons.  I declare them a success since she loves them and is fearless about going underwater, although she's actually a little less manageable than she was at the beginning.  She is self-assured and strong-willed and if she wants to play with the octopus toy, that becomes her central focus, even if we're not to that part of the class yet.  And although she enjoys collecting the rubber duckies, she does not want to drop them in the bucket.  She wants to hoard ALL THE DUCKIES.  Sometimes I feel like Swimming Lessons could be more accurately re-titled on Aqua Power Struggles with a 15-Month-Old.

And I have to tell you, my work week kind of feels like a swimming-related metaphor these days.  I told David on Sunday that it seems like after the weekend we take a deep breath and dive in to the work week and we don't come up for air again until Friday night.  My days are a constant go-go-go of teaching and grading and meeting with students and meeting with colleagues and prepping to teach the next class, and then picking up Zuzu and playing and feeding and cleaning up after her and then we try to squeeze in a walk to the park before it's bath time and bed time and wine time for Mommy and then we get up and do it all again.  It's a good kind of busy, but it does feel overwhelming at times--mostly just because I'm only treading water at work.  Two of my three class-preps are brand new, so I'm not getting ahead and that is a stressful for me after my smooth-sailing part-time semester last spring.  I underestimated what this semester would look like.  But hey, we're already five weeks into the semester, which means we're practically halfway there!

I'm kind of glad swimming lessons are wrapping up because it's one less thing that I have to do at a certain time and place during my week.  At the same time, it's been really sweet to have Zuzu and Mommy time in a warm saltwater pool, even if it does involve four other toddlers and their parents.  Also, as I mentioned in a comment on Instagram, the locker room at the pool is Zuzu's new favorite place, with lockers being the new favorite toy/jungle gym.  This resulted in her first huge public meltdown last week when it was time to leave the lockers.  Actually, it was time to go into the restroom so Mommy could pee and while I was doing my business, Zuzu flung herself down on the floor screaming and tried to reach her hand underneath the door in a desperate bid for escape.  Perhaps so a passer-by would take pity on the chubby little hand and her wild banshee shrieks would attract a rescue? Or maybe she thought she could stretch and reach the lockers?  I'm not sure what the logic was because all I could think about was how disgusting it was that my kid was crawling on the floor of a bathroom.

Zuzu is not much about the cuddle time these days--she wants to be on the move constantly and then even at bedtime she's not much interested in quietly being rocked.  We read a few stories but once I turn out the light and start singing, she will literally lunge for the crib, like Just put me in bed, woman, and leave me alone!  (Or maybe it's a comment on my singing!  This has just occurred to me.  How embarrassing!)

I'm not complaining--I remember when I thought she'd NEVER go to bed without tears!  But it is a little bittersweet to not get extended snuggles every night.

She made up for it this morning, though, after getting dressed, when I hugged her and asked her to "give Mama some love" and she wrapped her squishy little arm around my neck, and patted my back with her other hand.  Swoon.

Nekkid baybee