Watching the kids swim. Not something I love to do in 114 degree weather, but I was tired of hearing them argue and fight. So I sat in the shade while they worked out their aggressions in the water. Playing with my new phone, which was free. Remind me to tell you the phone story...it is an awesome story. Seriously. It's good.
Back to the swimming. Do you remember swimming as a kid? I do. It was one of those activities that could change the course of your entire day. Too hot to play? Let's go swimming. Friend was mean to you? Let's go swimming. Bad haircut? Let's go swimming. Your a pre-teen or maybe a barely teen girl and you just started your monthly? Let's...not go there. That was one thing swimming couldn't fix. That just flat out sucked. But I don't have girls, which is probably good. Can't hardly deal with my own girly crap, let alone someone else's. But enough of the hormonal talk.
Back to swimming. Remember the smell of chlorine as you rushed over to the edge of the pool? The sun glinting off the water, right into your eye, temporary blinding you to the beautiful blue color of the liquid coolness that awaited you? Right about that time was when you would realize that your feet were being fried on the cool deck, so you had to either jump in or quickly splash some water onto the deck under your feet. Either way, relief from heat and boredom was just a dive or a jump away. And the minute you hit the surface and the water engulfed you? Life just got better.
Mostly. Except for that one time when you jumped in and the pressure from the impact of the water pushed your swimsuit top up over your boobs, mostly because you didn't have much of a chest yet. None of this would have been too big of a deal, except maybe you didn't notice the top thing when you came up out of the water, because you were so focused on how great the water felt. And while you are standing there wringing your hair out and getting it out of your eyes, you begin to realize that some of the kids, expecially the boys, are pointing and laughing. Then you feel a slight breeze and HOLY FREAKING COW! your top isn't where it's supposed to be and even though you yank it down as quickly as you can it's too late - the boys have seen you in all your glory (not much glory at the time) and now the course of your day has changed...again. Remember sinking back into the water and trying to get lost in the crowd? Remember thinking that the person who had the idea to go swimming suddenly seems like an idiot? Remember that? Ummm...me neither. Much. It's only an occasional flashback now.
So I'm watching my boys and remembering my summer days at the pool. Wondering what kinds of things they will remember about swimming when they are my age. Hopefully their memories will be of friends and splashing and general water frivolity. Or maybe they'll think of the sacrifices their mom makes for them, wilting in the heat while I sit poolside because I'm unwilling to see myself in a swimsuit, much less wear one in public! Which I would blame on childbirth, but I was fat before I had them. But I digress.
Back to swimming. Maybe, just maybe, they'll sit and chat about that one time they saw that girl come up out of the water with no swimsuit top...at which point I will have to kaibosh the conversation. They'll think it's because I think the topic is inappropriate. I won't tell them it's because I have war memories.
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