Watery oasis

I was never one to make a beeline for the water park once summer hit. I don't know how to swim. I'm also self-conscious about getting tanned. Those two reasons have me customarily sitting in the shade the majority of the time. Alex, of course, adores the water park. When we learned that some dear family would be venturing there over the Fourth of July weekend, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take Serene there for the first time. The sweltering afternoon made the watery oasis a welcome refuge. We all went wading in the manmade river, and then we took Serene to the kiddie section. She garbled and splashed happily in one corner for about 30 minutes. Her infatuation with watery overstimulation halted there, and I spent the remainder of the time sitting with her under the shade, while Alex and our friends conquered the big kid slides. We didn't stay long because we were catching wind of heat-induced crankiness, and Serene was due for her afternoon nap. We continue to learn that attractions only entertain a baby for so long. Our family outings these days, while always enjoyable, are often abrupt more so than leisurely. They're the anticipated diversions to balance out an established home routine and daily responsibilities. Though this space immortalizes our periodic adventures here and there, having a sweet babe (and our packed schedules) make us cherish being homebodies. My teenage self would have scoffed at this preference, but my older (wiser, hopefully) self is completely content with the idiosyncrasies of this season of life.