totally against my better judgment...

Yeah, I did it again.

We all went to the pool.

Against Better Judgment Ruling #1: Out of kindness of my heart and unwillingness to be just plain cruel, I invited Him with.

Against Better Judgment Ruling #2: When La Princesita had to go potty after about an hour and a half, I did not insist that we all leave then and there. On an "excessive heat advisory" day, an hour and a half, biking to and from the pool, is more than enought.

Against Better Judgment Ruling #3: I left The Young Prince with his father at the pool. We arrived at the pool at 2:30. They LEFT the pool at 6 p.m.

He is almost 4. Not an adult, almost 4.

"But he was cool; he was swimming at the pool."

"That's not the point. The point is that you, as the adult, need to exercise the common sense to figure out when enough is enough and say when it is time to go."

"But he was cool. And then he didn't want to ride his bike home."

(stifling a big DUH here) "Um, yeah. You, as the adult, need to factor into the equation that he'll still need to get himself home on his bike. You need to factor in exhaustion."

"But..."

"But nothing."

We got inside and He said to The Young Prince, "Now go to your room."

"What???!!! Whatever he did, you as the adult need to realize that he is four years old, hot, exhausted and probably really, really hungry. Whatever he did was probably a result of your not taking all this into consideration when you decided to stay at the pool for four hours with him, so he should not go to his room for your transgression."

Silence.

I was calm. I didn't fly off the handle. He apologized to His son and they are now eating their dinners. I will shower The Young Prince tonight, brush and floss his teeth, and hold him until he falls asleep.

...which is NEVER against my better judgment.