We left the water park when I realized that the best time to leave was an hour ago, before the crowds got so bad and the kids were cranky. I suspect this is a typical departure time. This was my first venture into a water park in ten years or more. I gave them up when I realized that taking young children into such places was signing up for five hours of Where’s Waldo when Waldo might drown if you can’t spot him quickly enough. Today was nothing like that. My children have reached the age where I can say “We need to stay together” and they do. I say “sure, swim ahead of me in the lazy river, but wait for me at the exit” and they will. Or even “I’ll wait here, once the waves in the pool stop, come back” and they arrive right on schedule. It was lovely all morning. By afternoon everyone was a bit tired, but not admitting it, and the crowds had increased to the point that they interfered with everything. So the negotiations for One More Thing were a bit heated, but compromise was found. The kids are full of plans for how things should go next time. Since we have summer passes, having a next time is probable. More importantly, I can picture a trip to the water park as something fun instead of hours of exhaustion, frustration, and tantrums. I like parenting for older kids.
For now I will pay attention to the parts of my skin that are screaming at me. 5 hours of direct sun does a really good job of showing me my sun screen blind spots.