Swimming with the little guy…

Dealing with the kids post-separation has been difficult, but there are times when things should be an absolute no brainer. Such as how many kids you take to visit family or taking whatever extra time you get with the kids and running with it.

On Sunday I picked up Jon to spend almost two weeks with the little guy. Leah and Ethan are going to Newfoundland to visit her family and while I don’t personally approve of taking one kid on vacation and leaving the other behind, I am going to take my extra time with Jon and make the best of it. I’ve been making plans with Chris and his wife to be to take the kids to the splash pad at one of the biggest parks and yesterday cause the sun was up and blazing, it was the perfect time to hit the pool and have a good time.

I was a little concerned because Jon had outgrown his life jacket but he was tall enough to stand in the pool now so I let him climb down the stairs and get into the pool and learn how to swim around on his own. Much to my surprise, Jon did very well in the pool. Before I knew it, he was dunking his head underwater without drinking half the pool. He adjusted so well and I’m proud of the little guy for getting right in there and not being afraid without his life jacket.

Here are some pics of our week together so far:

As you can see, it was a very fun filled first day here at my place. We’re not going out today, because there is some construction going on in our driveway so we can’t get outside. We have an exit available in case of emergencies but we`re going to stay indoors and just watch a few movies and do some writing.

I’ve been working on some ghost writing projects that are due this week, hence the lack of writing here and on other sites as well. My projects will all completed on Thursday and then I will give Jon my full attention and the next week will be as much fun as I can possibly make it for the little dude.

I’m not trying to say that Ethan cannot have some quality one on one time with his mother, but to leave a kid behind when visiting family… that is a trip that I think both Jon and her family would have wanted to see him take part in as well. Yet I know the truth to why Jon didn’t make the trip, and it’s because of his autism. Jon’s high maintenance would have cramped Leah’s style… forcing her to do more work than she wanted to while on ‘her’ vacation. I know she wants to meet up with her girlfriends and go drinking or do other things and Ethan is easy to dump on someone to watch. Leaving Jon here was more about her than it was about Ethan or anyone else.

I remember trying to plan a vacation last year. I was invited to a family reunion and I had more than enough money to afford the trip to New Orleans to visit my own family. While making plans, my Dad actually had the nerve to ask me to bring only Ethan and leave Jon at home with Leah. Not only did this request fall on deaf ears, but I cancelled the trip completely. Either we all go, or no one does.

It’s shame Leah doesn’t feel the same way about the kids.

Yet her loss is clearly my gain. An extra eleven full days with my youngest son is not a punishment, and the pics above prove that we’re having a great time. Jon has been really good for me thus far and I think he’s going to have a lot of fun during time he’s here with me. I wanted to take Jon to the city to see a Blue Jay game, but the Jays are on the road the entire time and there’s also the all star break. So while we can’t see a ball game, there are other great things to do.

While I feel for Jonathan and the fact that he has basically been left behind, I’m not saying anything and using the extra time to have fun and do a little more father/son bonding. We’ll have a lot of fun and make the best of the situation. Until then, everyone have a great time and I’ll be around.

Until then, take care…

Peter