fun day

the morning began well, i walked mr smear to his shuttle bus, then made my way to the office, arriving just in time to catch our shuttle up to sdot yam.

it was an absolutely gorgeous day. extremely hot, but not nearly as extreme as the previous couple of days, and we spent most of it in the shade. from a social point of view, it was a smashing success, both formally with the icebreakers and informally with incessant getting to know each other.

i hit the water with the stand-up paddleboards (coached by hagal sheli volunteers), and i had a lot of trouble initially (i almost lost my sunglasses at one point). when i moved away from the rocky area, though, i found it much easier and managed really well! unfortunately, by that point i was already feeling a combination of motion sickness, excess heat, and i think i might have swallowed a bit of a sea water. after we got back to shore i needed a break from the world (and a coke, and to lie down) before the nausea went away.

then i signed up for the ice bath. the preparation (breathing exercises) made me feel like this would be a good preparation for a tattoo session :P

i wasn't even halfway into the water when i was blindsided by just how difficult it was for me to get my breathing under control! it was only two minutes, but i struggled to open my eyes even when instructed because i was so focused on keeping my breathing regulated, and my legs hurt. but it was so hot outside, that after climbing out and warming up a little i had to ask if i could go in again.

the answer was a resounding no.

the rest of the afternoon was keeping hydrated, eating exotic crepes-like ice cream, and talking incessantly.

we left earlier than we expected, the bus ride home was very pleasant (i connected musically to one of our aussies), and when we returned to the office i got some advice from lipgirl and another coworker about apartment hunting before returning home.

mr smear and i enjoyed an early dinner, then took a bus to where his friend's staying to pick up his bike. the ride their was pleasant, we had to wait a little while so we took a short walk and talked a lot, and that was great.

the poor dog being dog-sat was too scared to come and say hi, and wasn't doing well in general. i talked about the apartment hunting and realized that my anxieties about leaving early are justified...

the way home was unpleasant. mr smear almost immediately got into a mode, he didn't want to push the bike and he felt it was "unfair" that i was walking alongside him and not doing all the work. this non-stop arguing culminated in me losing my temper in the middle of a bridge, and yelling at him about how we could make things "fair" (by me making him work hard whenever i work hard), which led to about five minutes of walking in silence.

and then sitting on a bench, and having a relaxed, rational conversation about how life isn't fair, though we have to try to make it fair, and that my job as his father is to prepare him for the world. the rest of the way home was pleasant conversation, and the rest of the evening went smoothly.

today so far: a nice morning, and a parental guidance session that was challenging but ultimately good. now i'm off to the office.