two nice san francisco water days

yesterday i took miles to crissy field. the water was just about warm enough to swim, but we found a tidal river flowing into the bay that was about 85 degrees, with beautiful ripples of water. miles played last airbender and jumped off the sand cliffs into the water. our blanket ended up next to a group of kids and teachers from a school for kids with emotional disturbances, some of whom had come from the burt center, where i worked long ago. they had a pretty sweet little program going, and miles and i built tunnels while i eavesdropped on all the positive reinforcement going on and watched teenagers splashing joyfully in the bay. it was nice to be a mom of one for a few hours, and have my kid tell me "i like being alone with you."

today i took both kids to the north beach pool/joe dimaggio playground. i used to go here with the special day class i worked with at yick wo, as an indulgence when i was pregnant with maya. we were a little early and checked out the community center garden across the street as well as the corner store which sold ping pong supplies, candy, and pokemon cards. there are two beautiful clean pools inside, side by side, one 85 degrees, one a little colder. as soon as it opened the pool was flooded with at least 100 chinese kids, most of whom seemed to be without their parents. i thought miles would feel shy but within seconds he and another boy found each other in the mass of splashing, kicking, yelling kids. they followed each other around pretty much silently for about an hour. maya let go of the wall for the first time and jumped through the water to me, then swam back, over and over until she was exhausted.

we dried out in the north beach sun at the playground, where miles found his friend again.

home now, watching the old disney movie homeward bound, the incredible journey.