Hucifer does the solo thing…sort of. Alone and going home, 9/21

Quoting you: Yep. I live for this copy/paste crap. If only Lou would visit OTHER people's TRs too...

*cough*NMAmy*cough*

Quoting ChasingAmy: It's much easier for me when Lou emails my shout outs to you. He read it--he knew about the artichokes. Love my new nickname, btw.

Quoting you: I keep pressuring him to e-mail you. I told him in the very least to read your TR because it's so dang funny. Looks like he half-listened to me.

Okay, I get it. I’ll get there I promise. And don’t flatter yourself that I half listened. I only listen to about 50% of what you say.
Math is hard.


Quoting Pyrex Pryncess: I freakin love you. Not in the "hey, lets leave our husbands and run away to an island somewhere" kind of way

That works too though. And that was an awful lot of detail about something you didn’t mean. Just saying.

And…. I was trying to take mental notes about what comments I wanted to make once I reached the end........sorry, Deadliest Catch came on and I pretty much forgot everything.

Squirrel!


Quoting you: I'm kind of sad that you're not interested in me romantically. Jakie and I had many crazy adventures. She wants to know what the buzzer is for. Is it me or…does this woman not get out much? “It will flash and buzz when you’re ready.”

I thought you were getting a bit wordy so I edited you down a bit. I may have changed the theme just slightly in the process.
Nice and dirty. That's how I like it.


Quoting you: I hope that in my less-than-sober state I texted coherently back to him.

How much different than normal could that be?
:mad:


Quoting you: You see, faithful reader, that is why I drag this Disney shopping bag with me. To carry park essentials such as park maps and ponchos.

You left out the fanny pack and the name tag. With the poncho(s) and the maps that pretty much paints a clear picture of someone who would dress up as Harry Potter for Halloween. God, I hope it was for Halloween.
Dan finds my HP costume rather sexy.


Quoting you: Coming up: Part 6. Why you should never leave me in a pool alone with your children

Followed by: Coming up: Part 7. Why you should never leave me in a hot tub with your husband
Especially if he's from Morocco.


Quoting Amychoke: Because the bigger question here is: WHY would you take a bus from MGM to Epcot, especially when your destination is the Rose & Crown? There's a perfectly good boat that goes from MGM to the International Gateway--eliminating any walking through Future World and depositing you just a few steps from the Rose & Crown. Oh, and the boat never takes a weird route.

And….

Quoting MommyPoppins: Yes, this was my question too. The thing more strange than the bus drivers route is YOUR route.

Even if you had walked from MGM to Epcot it would have been faster.

And…

Quoting PrincessV: Yes, I know this has already been covered... I think it requires further hammering on... WHY are you taking a bus from MGM to EP?!?!

Well now. I think we effectively established why you are a fake cast member who can’t understand why no one will take her tour guide advice even though she has maps. After the way you butchered the Sci-Fi Drive By Place I’m surprised you didn’t think the Rose & Crown was called the Carnation & Tiara.

Lou
You people are relentless.
 
Nice update. It's been adequately picked-apart by my fellow Huciphiles, so I'll leave it at that.

Oh wait, one more thing. I can't believe you took a bus to get from DHS to the World Showcase! (Nah. I'm sure I would've done the same.)
 
Nice update. It's been adequately picked-apart by my fellow Huciphiles, so I'll leave it at that.

Oh wait, one more thing. I can't believe you took a bus to get from DHS to the World Showcase! (Nah. I'm sure I would've done the same.)
Well, you didn't disappoint.


okay all caught up!!!!
Not quite. Another update coming...
 

By the time I arrive at my room, the rain has stopped. The clouds are still looming, but it looks like it’s decent pool weather. I slip on my bathing suit, curse the mirror and the image looking back at me (childbearing has not been kind to it and unlike men, women don’t experience shrinkage in the pool). Which means one thing:

No pics for this segment. Sorry. Actually, I’m not sorry. Sorry about not being sorry.

I walk down for a little water action.

Fortunately, the rain kept most pool-goers and potential oglers away. I drop my things on a lounge chair and walk into the water, letting the warmth spread all over my tired body. The water feels like heaven to me, now more than ever. When it was just Dan and me, I guess I took dips in the pool for granted. I took all leisure time for granted, really. Having an active toddler around these days, leisure time is such a gift because it’s a rare occurrence. So, considering that a non-shopping mom was having a little pool time…look well my friends because this sort of thing only happens once a millennium. And if you put a drink in my hand…I think the world may implode.

I swim (swum?) all around the pool. I wasn’t expecting the pool to be so big. And with so few people in it, I have lots of room to explore. I even go down the lizard tongue slide…although I felt like an idiot doing so. This is when I realized that water play was meant to be done with others. As much as I enjoy hitting the parks alone, this was one activity I really didn’t enjoy. That surprised me. After a few moments of utter leisure bliss…it hits me. I was all, “Umm…I’m bored. Now what?”

I stayed in the pool, hoping that I would learn to love it. But just the opposite happened…an incident occurred in that water and this was one thing I completely regretted about telling. I’m still struggling with forgiving myself, which hasn’t been easy.

I was swimming in an area that was about five feet deep. At five feet four, I can touch my toes on the bottom and just barely keep my head out of water. So I’m swimming around and an eight-year-old boy is swimming behind me. He looks like he is a good swimmer, so I don’t think much when he lifts his head out of the water and squeaks out a “help” without even opening his eyes. I figure it’s some different game of Marco Polo, although I didn’t see anyone else around who was paying him any attention.

The boy puts his head back in the water and swims toward me. Again, he looks like he’s doing a pretty good job of swimming. He then lifts his head up out of the water, eyes still closed, and squeaks out another “help!” but this time with a little more volume.

Instantly I look around. There are two lifeguards near us. Why aren’t they jumping in? Do they not see him struggling? I’m also confused: why is he crying for help if he can swim?

I look back at the boy. He’s got his head back in the water and he swims a little more. Now he’s swimming right next to me. He again lifts his head out of the water. His eyes are tightly closed. He appears to be crying now and he looks scared. “Help!” he cries. But I just stand there, wide-eyed and heart thumping, my head spinning as it remembers an article I read just a month before…

…I was walking on the treadmill, desperate to get in shape for my big solo adventure to the World. Desperate to look decent in a bathing suit in case I decide to go swimming. I so badly wanted my BC (Before Childbirth) body back for this trip and I was burning up the treadmill over the summer as I walked and walked and walked toward a seemingly unreachable goal.

My Parents magazine was open in front of me on the treadmill. I was reading an article on emergency situations with children and how to handle them. One of the scenarios was if you find a child drowning in a pool. Your first instinct is to jump in, the article said. But that is one of the worst things you can do. You may be pulled under yourself while trying to save your child. Throw them a lifesaving flotation device and yell for someone to call 911. If no one is around, call 911 yourself.

I remember thinking that there was no way to ignore all my instincts that are screaming for me to jump in the water and save my baby, let alone leave him there while I go in the house to make a phone call! But this piece of information etched itself into my consciousness.

So here is this obviously stressed and struggling boy, not exactly drowning, but definitely not doing well. And here is me: standing in the water, paralyzed. My brain kept rewinding back to that article: Never try to save the child yourself in the pool. Never mind that I was already touching the bottom. My brain shut down at that moment and I was frozen on the spot. I didn’t even call the lifeguards. All I did was look from boy to lifeguards to boy again, hoping and praying that someone will help him. My brain was also telling me, But he can swim! He doesn’t need help. And if he does need help, you can’t do it. That’s the lifeguards’ job.

They boy again put his head back in the water and swam a little past me. He was obviously trying to find the edge of the pool. He picked his head up, still keeping his eyes tightly shut. He was openly crying now. And he was terrified. “HELP!” he screamed. I looked over at the lifeguards. They still didn’t hear him and they still didn’t help him. I was so angry because there were two of them, they were RIGHT THERE, and they weren’t helping him. You would think they would be trained to hear that word, right? And I was especially angry at myself because I was frozen on the spot and absolutely helpless to anyone. I finally snapped out of my state of shock because I was about to call one of the lifeguards.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to. The boy’s dad hears him. The man jumps in the pool fully clothed, shoes and all and scoops up his son. That was his initial instinct, and that’s how I would expect any parent to react. Including me. “Are you alright?” the frantic father asks his son. “What happened?” The lifeguards, now finally clued in to a potentially deadly situation, stand where they are, mouths open and staring at the fully clothed man in the pool who was cradling his son in his arms. They exchange glances, then look back down. The dad is holding his son and comforting him while the boy clings to his dad, sobbing.

The dad carries his son out the pool, past the lifeguards who are standing there with their mouths still hanging open. I kept thinking, They didn’t do their job. This is what they are paid to do. This is not right. And then I turned it on myself: You didn’t do anything but watch. You didn’t even call for help. You’re touching the bottom, for god’s sake. You could have helped him yourself. What if that was your own son and some idiot was just standing there, watching it happen?

I stand on the spot and watch the dad wrap a towel around his crying son. He then wraps his arms around him and continues to comfort him. I’m so sorry, I thought. I’m so sorry I didn’t help. Please forgive me. I am so sorry.

The lifeguards are still in a state of shock themselves. They are glued to their spots, watching what is going on with the dad and his son, and doing nothing. They aren’t walking up to the boy and seeing if he’s okay, they aren’t apologizing to the dad for not doing their job. I am so angry at them I could scream.

After a few minutes the boy calms down and he looks okay again. All the fun that may have been left in the pool is now completely drained out. I swim back to my lounge chair and sit down. And then I drop my head down in my hands and bawl. I bawl in grief for the boy. I bawl in disgust for myself. I hope like hell that little family could ever forgive me, even if they didn’t know that I was there and could have helped them. I was cursing that article I read, cursing myself for not assisting the boy, and cursing the lifeguards for not being attuned to what was happening right under their noses. But mostly I cursed myself.

I eventually wipe away the tears, pick myself up, and wearily walk back to my room. I call home because, more than ever, I need to hear my family and know that I am loved, despite all of my faults.

“Hi mama,” Patrick says on the other end of the phone. Dan and Patrick are on speaker phone and Dan interjects with translations because, you know, Patrick still talks Toddler. And Toddler isn’t the easiest language to understand, even when you’re fluent in it. Which I am.

“Hi baby! How was your day?”

“Ween now pahtay ann jeev,” Patrick says.

“We went to a party today,” Dan translates.

“Ann maugh thee beeg dawg,” Patrick says.

“And there was a big dog there,” Dan says.

“Beeg dawg ann wahhhhhhh,” Patrick says, pretending to cry.

“The big dog made him cry.”

“Soom fuud nowlum foud. Dee End.”

[Click.]

The line was dead. Apparently that was the end of his story. But I must admit, that was the sweetest hang-up I’ve ever received.

Dan calls back, we laugh about our silly little son, and then wish each other a good evening. I didn’t bother telling him what a terrible person I was. It was good to feel like a wife and mama again.

Then I get undressed and – ow! Nice sunburn. On my back? Oh no, silly reader. That would be too obvious. I got burned on my shoulders. Despite the gallon of sunscreen I poured all over them this morning. Go figure.

I say a silent prayer to the boy and his family, and I drift off to sleep.



Coming up: Day 7: The Expedition Everest Singles line: How I developed a love for all things single.
 
I swim (swum?) all around the pool.

Swam.

I got teary reading this, Huc. I've saved 2 of my own kids, and lived with incredible guilt for a while for not being more attentive. Actually, I was right in the stinking pool one time.

Another time, someone else rescued my little girl, and brought her to me- they say they thought they had heard a fish jump and turned around just in time to see her hand go under!!!! :scared1::scared1::scared1:That was in Ecuador- 12 years ago. It still haunts me.

Don't be too hard on yourself. It can happen so quickly- there are no guarantees- even if you are IN the pool, things can happen.
 
Aw, it's hard to know how you'll react in a moment of crisis. We all hope that we'll act in a way that we can be look back on and be proud of, but you never know. I'm sure your instincts would've kicked that article to the curb in another moment or so, but I'm glad everyone was all right in the end. The lifeguards really should be ashamed though for not noticing the situation. It sounded like the place was almost empty, or at least not busy, they shouldn't have missed it!
 
Thanks.


I got teary reading this, Huc. I've saved 2 of my own kids, and lived with incredible guilt for a while for not being more attentive. Actually, I was right in the stinking pool one time.

Another time, someone else rescued my little girl, and brought her to me- they say they thought they had heard a fish jump and turned around just in time to see her hand go under!!!! :scared1::scared1::scared1:That was in Ecuador- 12 years ago. It still haunts me.
OMG...too many close calls in your family. I almost drowned twice myself when I was young. My uncle saved me both times. Scary, scary times.


Don't be too hard on yourself. It can happen so quickly- there are no guarantees- even if you are IN the pool, things can happen.
I hated myself because I was frozen on the spot and mentally shut down. Even though the boy was just shaken up after it all, I am still very upset about my lack of response.


Thanks, MP. The mama in me is so disappointed in myself. :guilty:

Glennbo123 said:
Aw, it's hard to know how you'll react in a moment of crisis. We all hope that we'll act in a way that we can be look back on and be proud of, but you never know. I'm sure your instincts would've kicked that article to the curb in another moment or so, but I'm glad everyone was all right in the end. The lifeguards really should be ashamed though for not noticing the situation. It sounded like the place was almost empty, or at least not busy, they shouldn't have missed it!
I can't believe they weren't clued in on the word "help." He said it -- and screamed it -- several times! And they were standing mere feet from us.
 
unlike men, women don’t experience shrinkage in the pool).

It's just not fair, is it?

No pics for this segment. Sorry. Actually, I’m not sorry. Sorry about not being sorry.

TOTALLY understandable.

Fortunately, the rain kept most pool-goers and potential oglers away.

You went swimming in the rain?

Having an active toddler around these days, leisure time is such a gift because it’s a rare occurrence. So, considering that a non-shopping mom was having a little pool time…look well my friends because this sort of thing only happens once a millennium. And if you put a drink in my hand…I think the world may implode.

It's another of those little odd quirks of nature. When they're little, they're just so needy. They get you all used to responding to their every whim and then they grow up and you volunteer to do their laundry. ;)

I swim (swum?) all around the pool.

It's swam, pal.

I even go down the lizard tongue slide…

Ewww. What is up with Disney and these bizarre pools? Clowns and lizards vomiting up small children.

I was all, “Umm…I’m bored. Now what?”

Empty nest syndrome. :lmao:

You would think they would be trained to hear that word, right?

Yes, you would.

The dad carries his son out the pool, past the lifeguards who are standing there with their mouths still hanging open. I kept thinking, They didn’t do their job. This is what they are paid to do. This is not right. And then I turned it on myself: You didn’t do anything but watch. You didn’t even call for help. You’re touching the bottom, for god’s sake. You could have helped him yourself. What if that was your own son and some idiot was just standing there, watching it happen?

:hug: Don't be so hard on yourself, pal. I think most people kind of have that moment of denial when they think that something bad couldn't possibly be happening and it takes a moment to sink in.

The lifeguards are still in a state of shock themselves. They are glued to their spots, watching what is going on with the dad and his son, and doing nothing. They aren’t walking up to the boy and seeing if he’s okay, they aren’t apologizing to the dad for not doing their job. I am so angry at them I could scream.

Yeah, I am, too. I mean, it's right there in their job name--LIFE GUARD. They're supposed to be guarding lives.

And then I drop my head down in my hands and bawl. I bawl in grief for the boy. I bawl in disgust for myself. I hope like hell that little family could ever forgive me, even if they didn’t know that I was there and could have helped them. I was cursing that article I read, cursing myself for not assisting the boy, and cursing the lifeguards for not being attuned to what was happening right under their noses. But mostly I cursed myself.

Oh, honey. It all worked out okay in the end. And now if, heaven forbid, something should happen again, I'll bet you remember this instead of stupid advice from Parent magazine.

“Hi baby! How was your day?”

“Ween now pahtay ann jeev,” Patrick says.

“We went to a party today,” Dan translates.

“Ann maugh thee beeg dawg,” Patrick says.

“And there was a big dog there,” Dan says.

“Beeg dawg ann wahhhhhhh,” Patrick says, pretending to cry.

“The big dog made him cry.”

“Soom fuud nowlum foud. Dee End.”

[Click.]

I love that conversation. Caitlin used to end phone conversations by saying, "Okay, I'm done talking now." Click.

Then I get undressed and – ow! Nice sunburn. On my back? Oh no, silly reader. That would be too obvious. I got burned on my shoulders. Despite the gallon of sunscreen I poured all over them this morning. Go figure.

Well, sure. That scarf can't stop the rays of the sun, you know.

It's just not a hucifer trip report until you make me tear up, is it now? ;)
 
Wow, thats crazy! I have grown up around water my entire life. I have done lifeguarding at every type of pool there is. I have even been certified to work a beach. We were trained in the rip currents. I never took the beach job, I just wanted to know what to do if I ever saw something happen there. Even though I havent been a lifeguard for a few years I have still been in the unfortunate situation a few times and had to grab children out of the water. Once we were at the wave pool and an 8 year old went down. I got her up and the lifeguards on duty took over for me. My kids are 8 and 3 now and I have made it a point to teach them to swim. For AJ its mostly getting back to the top and floating or dog paddling. Kat is a pro. I am not "downing" you in any way. I have spent my life being trained to just jump in and think later. It is a hard situation to be in and anyone would freeze!!! I had a similar situation a few years back at a restaraunt. Having the CPR training and all of the other training I have had would you believe that I froze at Chili's one night while a toddler was choking? I had never actually seen someone choking before let alone a child. Everything I had ever learned was gone, I just stared. Luckily someone at another table jumped up and took control. The baby was ok and went on to enjoy his chicken tenders and fries like nothing had happened but, it could have been tragic. It is hard to react during a crisis. The lifeguards should have been doing their jobs. That's why they are there!

I am so sorry that your pool day didn't go as planned. You are no-less of a person because you froze. It happens. Please don't be too hard on yourself for it.....we all still love you here!
 
Thanks for the next installment! I would let you swim with my kids. Don't be so hard on yourself.
 
I'm still thinking about this last installment, and it brought back a memory from a conversation I had while in high school. I was talking with a guy I played basketball with, he was about 6' 6" and I was nearing 6' tall. I don't know how we got on the subject, but he said "if you were drowning, I wouldn't jump in to save you." And I, of course, was like "wha?" And he said that he was taking lifeguard training and that if they felt like the drowning person would wrestle them in the water and jeopardize their safety, they shouldn't get in the water with the person -- they should use a floation device or pole or something. He went on to say "you're not that big, but I know you're a lot tougher than you look, so that's a compliment." So, I was like, "oh okay, since you put it that way." And he was right -- I'd totally kick his butt if he was between me and oxygen.
 
I can't believe the lifeguards just stood there. I can kind of understand you, and I'm sure less time passed than you thought. But the lifeguards? That's why lifeguard or no, I'm ready to jump in after my kids.

Whether I'm supposed to or not.

Sounds like a dramtic ending of the day for you.
 
If it was dinner time....as you contend....then your drunk and disorderly conduct was perfectly acceptable....and I shouldn't have judged you so harshly.

What the ding dang dong is this? An apology from PPA! And to Hucifer no less???? There goes that pedestal.......

By the time I arrive at my room, the rain has stopped. The clouds are still looming, but it looks like it’s decent pool weather. I slip on my bathing suit, curse the mirror and the image looking back at me

Wait a minute???? It is totally acceptable to dine, imbibe and ride various Disney modes of transport sans clothing, but you put on a bathing suit to go to the POOL???

Fortunately, the rain kept most pool-goers and potential oglers away.

I'm sure if Russell had only known, he would have been there for ya!


I swim (swum?) all around the pool.

It's......oh, never mind......

I even go down the lizard tongue slide…although I felt like an idiot doing so.

I bet you were expecting SOOO much more.......you drunken lady of leisure.....

This is when I realized that water play was meant to be done with others.

Yep, suspicions confirmed......

I stayed in the pool, hoping that I would learn to love it. But just the opposite happened…an incident occurred in that water and this was one thing I completely regretted about telling. I’m still struggling with forgiving myself, which hasn’t been easy.

Don't be too hard on yourself. It can happen so quickly- there are no guarantees- even if you are IN the pool, things can happen.

Aw, it's hard to know how you'll react in a moment of crisis. We all hope that we'll act in a way that we can be look back on and be proud of, but you never know. I'm sure your instincts would've kicked that article to the curb in another moment or so, but I'm glad everyone was all right in the end. The lifeguards really should be ashamed though for not noticing the situation. It sounded like the place was almost empty, or at least not busy, they shouldn't have missed it!

:hug: Don't be so hard on yourself, pal. I think most people kind of have that moment of denial when they think that something bad couldn't possibly be happening and it takes a moment to sink in.

Yeah, I am, too. I mean, it's right there in their job name--LIFE GUARD. They're supposed to be guarding lives.

Oh, honey. It all worked out okay in the end. And now if, heaven forbid, something should happen again, I'll bet you remember this instead of stupid advice from Parent magazine.

It is hard to react during a crisis. The lifeguards should have been doing their jobs. That's why they are there!

I am so sorry that your pool day didn't go as planned. You are no-less of a person because you froze. It happens. Please don't be too hard on yourself for it.....we all still love you here!

What THEY all said!

Coming up: Day 7: The Expedition Everest Singles line: How I developed a love for all things single.

Russell, Russell he's your man..........

OH, and I STILL can't believe you took a bus from DHS to Epcot......sheeesh!
 
I know you like sarcasm, but to be sarcastic you need something sarcasm-able to work with. Hard to find it in this last update.

Ahh Hucifer :grouphug:, I agree with others about not being so hard on yourself. We never know how we'll react in a situation until it happens. And since I'm being all sweet and stuff, I love Patrick's toddler talk. :goodvibes
 
Nice update. It's been adequately picked-apart by my fellow Huciphiles, so I'll leave it at that.

Oh wait, one more thing. I can't believe you took a bus to get from DHS to the World Showcase! (Nah. I'm sure I would've done the same.)
:lmao:

I stayed in the pool, hoping that I would learn to love it. But just the opposite happened…an incident occurred in that water and this was one thing I completely regretted about telling. I’m still struggling with forgiving myself, which hasn’t been easy.

:hug::hug::hug::hug::hug: Okay, I know it's already been said, but please don't beat yourself up. We truly don't know just how we'll react in that situation, or how our reaction might affect the outcome. And what you'd read was absolutely correct; had you tried to rescue the boy, he could easily have dragged you under and there'd have been two people in need of rescue instead of one. You just never know; you did what was right for you, in that specific situation, at that time. One more: :hug:
 
I know you feel bad but you have to give yourself a little bit of a break. It does take a bit to process the reality of what is going on. You needed a few seconds to determine he wasn't playing and was actually having trouble. You need another second to decide what to do about it. You may feel like you could have reacted quicker but let me ask you this:

If the Dad wasn't there and the lifeguards never saw him would you have let him drown? Would you have stood there watching as he went under and didn't come back up? Would you have been paralyzed for the 5 minutes or more that it would take for him to drown? OF COURSE NOT! You would called to the lifeguards to save him or done it yourself long before any permanent harm happened. His Dad's reaction was quicker because he already knew his son's swimming abilities and he didn't have to decide if he should leave it to the professionals or do it himself. Parental instict made him react instead of think.
 
If the Dad wasn't there and the lifeguards never saw him would you have let him drown? Would you have stood there watching as he went under and didn't come back up? Would you have been paralyzed for the 5 minutes or more that it would take for him to drown? OF COURSE NOT! You would called to the lifeguards to save him or done it yourself long before any permanent harm happened. His Dad's reaction was quicker because he already knew his son's swimming abilities and he didn't have to decide if he should leave it to the professionals or do it himself. Parental instict made him react instead of think.

Very well said!:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2
 












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