Dawn Patrol: July 22, 2009

Abby gets closer and closer to being able to sit up on her own. She can actually do it for very short periods of time. She tends to lean forward a little, and she will eventually fall to one side or the other. But the amount of time she can stay up gets longer and longer everyday.

She also has another new ability. While she's laying on her back, she'll get a good grip on the fingers of each of my hands. I can then pull her up to a sitting position and then up to a standing position. She can support her own weight with her own grip throughout.

Yesterday was a pretty good one. Abby and her friend went on a long walk so that her friend's Daddy could take a look at the Y. They are considering joining up as well. The girls stayed in the nursery for about a half-an-hour, which was the first time she's really been without Mommy or me for any period of time. She did fine, and she greeted me with a big smile when I came to get her.

Though I've already got a family membership, I took the tour of the facility again to make sure that I know where everything is. They have an indoor pool, and Abby is already old enough to get into it. We can swim with her without worrying about her getting sunburned. We can also swim in the winter time. As I think I mentioned, she can start swimming lessons in September. When we walked through the pool area on the tour, a "Perch and Shrimp" (parent and 6 months - 3 years) lesson was going on. There were two mommys, two little babies and an instructor all splashing happily in the shallow end. So cute. It warms my heart to write about it. I am very excited about the Y. It will be a safe and fun place for Abby to meet friends, learn some physical skills and get her excercise.

I must say that I have worried a little in this respect. I grew up about two blocks from the ocean on a barrier island just outside of Charleston, SC, so my days were full of tree-climbing, exploring, fishing, swimming and surfing (such as it was in S.C.). I had a lot of time for unstructured play outdoors. The reality of growing up in an urban area like Chicago will obviously be a lot different, and the harshness of the winter will severely limit outside time for much of the year. There are some wonderful parks and large forest preserves in and around the city, and there are great camping spots north a bit in Wisconsin. The Great Lakes offer a lot in terms of fishing, canoeing, etc, but you do have to get out of the city. But making use of this requires deliberate action on our part.

Our strategy is to to teach Abby from early on that recreation is an fundamental part of life that must have its place in the normal daily and weekly schedule. This is something that takes a little effort in a city like Chicago. This is different from how I grew up. For me recreation was more of a natural part of life. It was something that was just inherent in the environment in which I grew up.

Alot of this concern comes from a more general anxiety that I think stems from the fact that we will be raising Abby in an environment that is very different from what we experienced growing up. Don't get me wrong. Chicago has a lot to offer in other respects. She'll be exposed to world-class art, music and food. She'll meet and know people from different cultures. She'll learn Spanish at an early age. There are countless benefits to growing up in a city like this, and I am excited about all of these things.

But I do get a little sad when I think about the fact that she won't be able to run down to the beach.