Pride, The Return on Your Investment to Your Kids

I've always joked around about when is it I would get a return on my investment when it comes to these kids. When will they be able to walk the dogs for me? When will they wash the cars? When will Loden mow the lawn? When will one of them play professional sports so I can retire early? Heck, let's start simple, when can either kid open the fridge and get me an ice cold beer? I have to assume that after all the diaper changes and late night feedings, that I would be able to reap at least one if not all the aforementioned events.

I thought I was about 8 - 9 years away before seeing the start of a return, but that's because I didn't clearly define to myself all the different versions a return could be. Here I was looking for a direct benefit to my life, but really it's all the little intangibles that make you feel so proud. All joking aside, it really it all about the little things that make you feel such pride for being a parent to such amazing kids. No, it isn't about being able to receive an ice cold beer (though I am still going to work on it), but it's all the moments that let you know all the early Saturday mornings and all the taxiing around town are completely worth it.

I remember several months ago, Loden finished the first round of gymnastics class which was on Saturday mornings at 9am. We first enrolled him in this class primarily for him to just get some energy out early in the morning. Also, if we didn't have anything planned early enough on Saturday, we would take our time to get out of the house thus pushing Loden's schedule out where it no longer closely mimics his school schedule. Lunches, naps and dinners need to be timed properly, otherwise you'll have a cranky kid that will stay up all night long. Even though those two benefits make enrolling in gymnastics class already worth it, you also get the added benefit of your child actually learning something he normally wouldn't otherwise be exposed to.

Loden knows structure. That's important. As much as we all just want to play all day long, Loden realizes that even in classes where you're supposed to play, that there is a structure. We start off with stretches and some imagination play. Then, once we have our little hearts pumping, it's off to the tumble track, a long stretch of trampoline where the kids run and bounce, then off to some obstacles where the kids learn to do forward rolls, backward rolls and the basics of cartwheels. After that, the kids learn to work on balance beams and work on swinging from bars. Again, very early stuff, but it's the basis of what they will learn should the choose to advance. After that, it's then time to play with bubbles, a wind down through song then time to say goodbye. After a few months of doing this, and Loden receiving his first (of what I hope many) trophy ever, you start to see some real development. Not just from actual gymanstics skills, but also interacting with new kids and working in a structured environment.

You've read the blog posts by now that Loden and Cyan are enrolled in swim class. Talk about another milestone! I remember Loden and I going to orientation and as soon as that was over, the instructor automatically moved Loden up to Super Waterbabies. It's a small accomplishment, but as a parent, you always love to hear that your child is advancing. Naturally, I was beaming with pride. We couldn't wait to get started. Of course, the first day of swim class, Loden didn't know what to expect. He cried non-stop. I was afraid they made a mistake in moving him up. Even bigger, I was afraid that Loden will no longer enjoy swimming. It took about four classes, but it turns out it was me that was getting in his way. He sees me near the pool area so naturally he wants to be with daddy. But cold turkey, the instructors said "you ought to go inside and watch from there." I'll do whatever it takes to get this boy's confidence back so I watched from behind glass. Like a lightswitch, Loden stopped crying and now enjoys swimming more than ever. He talks about Mr. Mike (his instructor) right before class starts and now goes down the big waterslide like it's nothing. So much confidence that he doesn't even wait for the instructor to catch him (probably not a good thing, but oh well). I love seeing this progress where he's both learning and having fun. The best part, he now graduates with a ribbon and a shirt and is moving on to Advanced Super Waterbabies. Proud? You betcha!

Now, baby Cyan and mommy didn't have the luxury of starting out from an introductory class. However, we've taken Cyan to a pool when she was only 3 months old. Not that we dunked her in, but a pool isn't completely foreign to her either. Because of her age, she starts off at the earliest level class which is waterbabies. The structure of this class is to get kids acclimated to being in the water to and make sure they realize that there is no reason to be afraid. Cyan is by far the youngest kid in her class. The rest of her classmates are at least two years old. No disrespect to the other kids whatsoever, but Cyan is the only kid in that class that is smiling non-stop. Not only that, she's the only one actually staying horizontal and able to move across the water. Cyan needs no further convincing that the water is fun and safe. She's ready to move. unfortunately her age keeps her from moving to the next class up. Not that it's a competition, but I love knowing the fact that she's not even a year old and she's already accomplished so much.

Having written all of this, please understand that by no means to I push my kids to keep doing more. While we always want to make sure we provide them with all the options available, it's the look in their faces when they are both having fun and knowing they are accomplishing something extraordinary that makes me proud. That's the return on my investment that nothing else can really replace. I love the self realization that Loden has when he yells out, "I did it daddy!" He doesn't do this for me, but he does it because he knows he just did something great. While I look forward for having my kids fetch my pipe and slippers, make me a sandwich and fill up the car with gas, I can't wait to see what else they can accomplish and you bet I'll do my best to make sure they have these options available to them.