April Outing Part 2

Hey Guys,

Re: Casey's comment about "that's the Christian God..." - This was in the car on the way home - I didn't hear how they got onto the subject, but Venice had said something about God and that was Casey's response - the conversation then shifted to another topic...

When the kids were walking along the dirt/muddy path near the river at Skinner Butte Park, I finally came down because they were drawn to the water's edge way too much for our comfort - The water was swift, tho just slightly slower along the river's edge - But the drop-off was steep most of the times, and it looked really cold - The air temp was probably in the low 50s, but the river is snow run-off so it's going to be way colder....Both Granny and I admonished them about safety and how cold the water was and how you'd go into shock just from the temp, and that could/would affect your ability to swim - Casey muttered sotto voce that "nothing bad's going to happen..." He kept saying that every time we commented about the swift moving waters and the slipper slopes...

Being there with them along the muddy pathway I was able to keep them corralled more, much to Casey's consternation - He grumbled, but didn't disobey me when I called them back onto the pathway, tho he kept mumbling "Nothing bad's going to happen..." After we'd sort of run out of energy and they were ready to return to Skinner Butte Park proper I was walking with Casey back to the bathrooms and told him that I thought it was good for him to think outside the box and push his own limits back there when we kept pulling them back from the water's edge - I said that was because of our life experiences, but his thinking was in part a good thing because it would stretch him....But, I added that the other half of this was his making sure he had the skills and abilities to meet various possible emergencies - I told him that he wasn't yet a good swimmer, and the cold shock could immobilize him - I added that where they were wanting to walk was precarious with slippery muddy slopes and tangled roots, which could trip them or a slip could throw them into the water - so it was necessary to have developed skills to know where you could walk safely, and that because of life experiences I knew more about those kind of things - in any cases, I told him he would need to develop such skills to go along with his pushing the envelope to insure his own safety...

Casey was quiet thru this, and didn't have any comments when I asked if it made sense to him....I reassured him that Granny and I were concerned with their safety, that's all...

Silence...

Jiichan...