waterfront park

After Bear woke up from his afternoon nap I took him downtown to Waterfront Park. Sure, there are lots of parks that are closer to us but I like him to experience different environments. Anyway, he headed straight for the sand. I had to persuade him to let another little boy play with the metal "digger" since it was the only one working and he had been on it for a long time. He headed straight for the little drivers cab, equipped with steering wheel and gas pedal. I sat in the row behind him and pretended to be riding on the bus. My role then changed to police officer when I had to pull him over and give him a ticket for driving too fast. The other parents were laughing at us but I pay them no mind. Their kids came and sat with me in the "bus" as we all screamed at the bus driver to SLOW DOWN. He changed gears and baled his vehicle to head for the swings. As I was pushing him on the swing I noticed that closer to the river there was a bench swing. I persuaded him to leave the novelty of the playground and go swing on the BIG swing with me. He gladly went and we sat on the swing and looked at the boats as they raced by. "What is that Mommy?" he would ask. "That's a boat!" I would answer. "That's not a boat! That's a spaceship" he would reply. The conversation contined along that path for a few minutes as he pointed to different objects. "What's that Mommy?" he would ask. "That's a spaceship!" I would answer. "That's not a spaceship. That's a boat!" he would reply with a subtle "duhh" tone in his voice. He is 3, that's what they do. There was a path in the grass that led down to the water. I asked him if he wanted to go down there with me and he agreed (holding my hand tightly). A boat had gone by recently and the waves were crashing against the shoreline and the sound was a little scary to him. I was proud of him, even though he was scared he stood his ground. The sun was beaming down on us and the sweat was rolling off of both our heads. We walked along the waterfront for a while. There was something going on at the "Great lawn" and they set off a bunch of white balloons into the air. By the looks of it it seemed to be a memorial of some sort but my son thought they were having a circus since there were white tents and balloons everywhere. We headed in that direction to see the fountains. As the people from the white tent group were leaving I noticed T-shirts that said "Walk to Remember" on the front. Some had pictures of babies on them and others had names and dates. I tried to explain that it wasn't a circus and he seemed to get it and didn't throw a tantrum (thank you!). I continued to read the shirts as people past by. I had not heard of the "Walk to Remember". Later, I found this http://www.louisvillewaterfront.com/Calendar/2007%20Calendar/oct%2007.htmoct07
On our way to the fountains we stopped by the bike rental place to see if they had a bike that I could rent and take Bear on a tour of the waterfront, one that didn't involve him stopping every three seconds to kick dirt, pick up gross stuff off the ground, and generally wander around aimlessly. I'm trying to teach him to follow his pack leader as instructed by Cesar Millan. Tsssht!! But it was hot and I thought he would enjoy the ride. They had a one person bike but that wasn't going to fit both of us and the other bikes were made for two people to pedal. I thought maybe that might be something we should recruit Dad for so we moved on to the fountains. People that know me understand that I have a phobia of public waterparks/pools. Especially those open to the mass public. Despite the fact that when I was a kid I lived in a public pool my entire summer vacation, that's besides the point. My intention was just to "look." He saw a little boy with his feet in the water by the "falls" and he wanted to go down too. Immediately I said "NO!" He had a fit and my guilt kicked in. He doesn't understand that I've seen homeless people bathe down there. Yes, the water is circulated but it's still gross. I felt bad for bringing him over there, with his head drenched with sweat, and not let him put his feet in the water. OK OK I caved in. "JUST YOUR FEET" I told him and he agreed. Luckily it was too deep for him to stand w/out getting his shorts wet so that wasn't an option. He was instantly refreshed. The water was freeeezing cold but it was hot out so he was in heaven. I broke my own rule and splashed some cold water on the back of his neck too. The other little boy left and I typically take advantage of those situations and say "Up! Time to go!" He usually goes without much fuss, as he did this time. Then ... the mother of all fountains was spotted and we had to go see. He ran towards it with such enthusiasm, screaming the whole way. "Mommy, LOOK!!" I know, I know I see it.... ugh. Jets of water spewing up from the ground. Great, how am I going to talk him out of this one. "Mommy can I take my shoes off?" So now my mind starts racing. Good cop, bad cop over and over in my head. I noticed that all the children are fully clothed. What purpose does that serve? I'm not sure. If I let him go in, do I take his shoes off? The other kids had on rubber shoes - professional fountain players. As I am playing ping pong with the thoughts in my head he is already on the ground taking his shoes off. Then my mom enters my brain and says "Fuck it, let him go. You are off all week. If he gets sick who cares" and with that I took his shirt off so he would have something dry to wear in the car and I waved him on with a shudder. He had the time of his life. He made new friends and played very nicely with the smaller guys too. Tomorrow, if one of his limbs falls off I will know exactly what caused it and I will call my Mom and blame her.