Mermaids

I was a mermaid tonight. I went to mermaid school, sang mermaid songs, did mermaid synchronized swim dances, and was given a special mermaid name. I like being a mermaid. It is pretty fun and relaxing. The pool was warm so I just enjoyed being a mermaid in the warm "ocean" for the whole of my late night swim with the kids. At one point in the evening, one of my mermaid friends, a six year old girl, named Ariel for the evening, did a very nice flip demonstration and handstand demo, and then each of the rest of the mermaids and mermen had to try it. I wasn't bad and was awarded a 4.9 on a 5.0 scale, so not too shabby for having not done that for quite some time. So, that part of my evening was a winner. A part that wasn't so much of a winner...forcing my 4-yr-old to get in the pool. He hadn't gotten in the pool the whole week. Sudden fear? New apprehension to swimming? not sure. Finally we made him get in. He was not a happy camper and so we let him out soon enough and he went back to playing. In the old days apparently there were parents who would throw their kids in deep water to teach them to swim. Not cool, scary. But here I am feeling so bad for just making my son get into the pool in his own father's safe arms. I don't want a non-swimmer. It just isn't safe. I also hate the idea of forcing something upon my kid though. Just another parent decision that I will lose sleep over. Fortunately, I think kids forgive pretty quickly. I remember my mother forcing my brother to take swim lessons as the instructors drug him into the pool kicking and screaming. And today he has a lovely relationship with our mother. But I will have to ask him if he held a grudge most of his life about the swim lessons. Anyway, I'm hoping the memories from this trip that stick in my kids' heads are of being mermaids together, riding rides together, watching shows together, watching late night movies together, and eating more icecream than usual. Hopefully they will choose to forget me making them eventually go to bed, making them order water instead of soda sometimes, and forcing them to swim on the last day of vacation. Sometimes as parents we just make mistakes. I'm just hoping the "mermaid" moments outweigh the "mistake" moments. also don't want to forget: -My son's merman name was Flint, and my nephew's was Jimmy Hiccups (made up by themselves)