'What Do You Do In the Summer Time?'

"my kid"

'What do you do in the Sumer time?'

Fun and Fancy Free

Kino Pool

Princess "D"

"noo knack" - break 

Nothing like a break from the heat in the zebra pool 

Arizona Sun

 "r&r"

'animals '

 damn "I" teeth

'cross roads'

'...do you swim in a pool to keep yourself cool?'

my little family-crew has been taking advantage of 

whatever water we can find out here in the desert. 

Saylor loves the pool, the hose, cool bath, sprinkler etc.

With the projected temperatures for Independence Day

this year being 108 degrees, it is no wonder why my child 

wants to live in a pool. 

I enjoy the swimming pool and atmosphere just as much as

Saylor Mia does. 

I like the heat and the Vitamin D just brightens my mood.

Luckily, I have adjusted to the heat over the last three years. 

Saylor (my little arizona native) seems to have no trouble in the heat;

as long as she is splashing in something. ..

Not gonna lie, 

she only makes friends with kids who have pools.

Separation Anxiety

As I have expressed in a previous post, I am determined to overcome my obsession with food and shed some extra weight. My husband was gracious enough to budget in a membership to our local YMCA. I don't want our money to go to waste and I wanted to prove to myself (and my husband) that I am serious about my fitness goals. So, although it had been a long and busy day I had scheduled in a short work-out before the gym day care closed. Now, my little angel is normally a very social, friendly and happy little girl. In the middle of my routine I quickly snuck a peek of my little sweetie through the window. Instantly, my heart was torn to pieces. There was a crowd of children and Saylor was getting lost in the mix. She needed a snuggle and was desperately following the caregiver around. I could see her mouthing "Mama, Mama". She wasn't crying yet but her face was red and worried. I watched for a few moments hoping she would be distracted by one of the many play stations. She returned to the gate where I dropped her off and began to cry. Needless to say I raced to her and scooped her up. I had never experienced this feeling before. She has always enjoyed the nursery at church and I was surprised that she was not having a good time. I realized it was too close to her bed time and she was not getting the attention she needed. I wanted to relieve her suffering as swiftly as possible.

I bravely returned this morning to attempt to finish my work-out that was cut short the night before. I had not anticipated that separation anxiety would be one of my fitness obstacles. I had heard about this sort of thing happening. I judged mothers for fussing over their children and letting their children take control over the situation. I thought that our health and well-being needed to be a priority. Happy families are a result of healthy moms, right? Once I felt that horrible feeling while watching my child in distress, I understood why other mother's reacted so desperately. The situation began to look similar this morning. Saylor was weary of my absence. I returned after thirty minutes and held her and reminded her that I would be back. I offered her one of her stuffed buddies and allowed her to cry for a few moments. If she was still upset after a set period of time I would call it a day and leave. I was relieved to see her several minutes later happily playing with two little girls. I was happy to see that she could relax and enjoy her time with the other children. It reassured me that she could trust me that I would indeed return. I was able complete my exercise and ended our outing with a dip in the pool.

My health is important to me. I am already feeling more relaxed, more motivated and more focused. I feel more patient and in tune with my family's needs. I am forming a routine and feel good about my commitment to my goals. I know that Saylor will also benefit from interacting with other children for a few hours a week. My commitment to her will always come first. This was one of our first experiences with separation anxiety and I know it will not be our last. As much as I want to lose weight and get in shape, I can not sacrifice the emotional needs of my child. Hopefully, Saylor and I can continue to build trust and we will both grow and learn together.