Last night I packed swim suits, towels, shampoo, brush, extra clothes, detangling hairspray, and whatever else seemed like a good thing to have a the gym and/or pool and I was ready to go. R got off fairly easily this morning -- after a few tears about missing out on the visit to the "Y" and about the fact that she didn't have the change from yesterday's $5 bill for lunch (lunch is $2.25 and I could not convince her that her teacher would still have the money if she took the $5 from R yesterday!). I finally sent her off with additional money but with instructions that she needed to first ask the teacher about her "missing" change.
As soon as R was on the bus I herded the other two into the car and we were off to the "Y"! First stop - mug shot. I had to get my official membership card. In my haste to leave the house I had showered but didn't bother to "fix" my hair since our first stop was the pool, so the picture could have been better but what do I care - seriously? It's not like I'm hoping to get a hot date through
Once that task was completed and I was officially signed in I led the girls to the locker room to change into swim gear and shower off before heading for the pool. We had a nice 1/2 hour swim time in a very warm (average temp is listed at 92 degrees!) pool that is 3 feet deep at one end and 4 feet at the other. It's the pool where A will have her swimming lessons and where some of the water aerobics classes take place. The girls loved playing in the water and I loved that they have water toys and floatation devices available for general use...not that E would have anything to do with having floaties strapped to her chest, but that's another matter.
We got out of the pool in plenty of time for me to get us all changed and ready to go to the childcare room to scope things out before my 10:15 class. Once in the room, both A and E began exploring and I filled out the necessary paperwork and got them signed in. I thought it was a lucky thing that they were doing some outdoor play on the playground when we arrived because I figured both A and E would enjoy the equipment and sandbox. So, I led them outside to where the other kids were playing and quietly made my exit. I was looking forward to my hour of kid-free exercise time.
Ha.
I think I need to have Miss E listen to more of the Village People because she was not too thrilled once she realized that mom was nowhere to be seen. I had enough time to take a drink of water from my bottle and set up my area the same way the teacher had her stuff set up - step on an incline, exercise ball, and 3- and 5-pound weights. As soon as she announced the start of warm-up ("Let's march it out") a head poked in the doorway to call me back to the childcare room which was right across the hall.
Sigh.
I go back to find E a complete wreck screaming as if they had been trying to pull her fingernails out one by one. She stopped immediately when she saw me and proceeded to have that labored, hiccough-y breathing for the next few minutes. She was having NO part of this childcare gig and she did not feel that it was "fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A"! The staff reported that A had done her best to comfort E and make her feel more at ease (she is such a sweet and sensitive big sister and it made my heart swell to hear how she had tried her best to calm E down). I tried to get E interested in the sandbox, chalk, the big balls...anything. But, as soon as I was out of sight she had a complete and utter meltdown. I brought her back inside and tried snack but every time I moved away to check out something in the room she fell apart. I ended up staying in the childcare area with her for about 45 minutes hoping that she would start to feel more comfortable. She did do some exploring towards the end but she was not OK if I was more than 3 feet away. A, on the other hand, had a ball and when I announced it was time to go she was upset but she fell in line and went over to say good-bye to her "three new friends" and I promised we'd be back again to play soon.
I am going to have to take it slow with E. She is not going to fall easily into this situation as I had hoped. I don't recall having huge separation anxiety issues with R and A. Perhaps they did at around this age (22 months) but I don't recall it being severe or long-lasting. Either that, or childbirth and dealing with young children 24/7 for the last 7.5 years has completely messed with my memory and recall abilities and I am just unable to dredge those thoughts from the recesses of my cobwebby brain. Either way, I'm going to have to find a way to deal with this and hope that a few more sessions of playtime with mommy at the "Y" will make E realize that the staff and kids in the childcare are not going to bite, that the toys and the play area are actually a fun treat and that mommy doesn't just disappear - she will return sooner or later looking much the same as she did when she left...only sweatier and more flushed.
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