Getting Gutsier

Gutsier ... is that a real word? Regardless, what I mean to say is that I'm trying to be a little more brave ... or at least I'm thinking of becoming more brave.

The braveness kicked in at swimming lessons yesterday. Sure, I didn't opt to "slip in" with JC (I walked her in using the shallow stairs), but I DID manage to completely dunk her not once, but TWICE!! I was so proud of myself. Though, I had to laugh to myself when our instructor suggested that we could either just dunk the babies on their own "if we [didn't] want to get [our] hair wet," or we could dunk ourselves at the same time. Let me tell ya - dunking myself at the same time would NOT be a good idea. I would be coughing and spluttering and panicking and poor JC would be at the bottom of the pool, or more likely treading water expertly and laughing at my inability to go below the surface without inhaling half the pool. Yes, sadly, I am one of those adults who plugs their nose to go underwater. Do NOT push me in a pool. I will choke and choke and choke and you will feel nothing but sad for me. It's THAT bad. In any case, JC did a great job with the dunking and I was very proud of her.

The braveness wavered today when I decided to look online for a local yarn/wool shop. I've been inspired by the knitting books I've been flipping through (most notably, Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats) and the beautiful yarns they use, so I wanted to see if I could get my hands on some myself. Well it turns out there is a lovely yarn shop not far from here, but I am too scared to go! How ridiculous is that? It seems silly, but I am really intimidated! I guess I'm afraid of spending an obscene amount of money on something that I will massacre and then I'll be even more upset than I am when it occurs with my good ol' Zellers-on-sale-acrylic yarn. Or maybe I'm scared that I won't be able to make intelligent conversation with the knitting experts there. I don't know ...

Ok, and here's one more thing I've been wimping out about: I need to call my aunt and uncle because they haven't seen JC yet. I know, I'm a bad niece, procrastinating like this, but there really is a reason (not sure if it's a good one, but there is one nonetheless). Ummmmmm, so ... they smoke ... a lot ... in their house ... and they live ~2 hours away from us. Usually I would just grin and bear it and just go sit with them because I really love them and want to see them. However, I really don't want to subject JC to secondhand smoke like that and I'm afraid of hurting their feelings. I think I just have to call them and suggest we meet elsewhere like at a coffee shop or something, right? And I guess I'll just have to explain if they ask? That's the right thing to do, right? I'm still not exactly chomping at the bit to call them and do it though. Hmmmm ...

One thing I DID do was go back to my last post and add the links that I was too scared to add. Baby steps ...

Well, now that I've confessed my fears I guess I should make a plan to conquer them (or at least some of them). Here goes:
1) Next week I will "slip in" with JC at swimming lessons
2) I need to practice going underwater without plugging my nose. Perhaps we can go swimming as a family sometimes and I can practice this while my husband swims with JC.
3) I should just buck up and go to the yarn shop. Maybe I can make JC a really nice hat or something. A pattern that I trust will work, so that I'm pretty well guaranteed success with my first real wool purchase.
4) I need to call my aunt and uncle. I will talk to my husband about when we might be able to go visit. Then I will call them to try to make plans.

Wish me luck!

Oh, and here's a question for ya:
How important is it that I shower JC at the pool after each swimming lesson? I've just been drying her off, dressing her and taking her home and then bathing her after she wakes up (and I shower while she's sleeping). I sort of figure that showering in chlorinated water without properly washing won't do much to get the chlorine off her or any other thing that the showers are meant to remove. Am I way off base here? All the other moms seem to shower their babes after swimming, but I just don't understand the benefit. Help me out here.