Pool People

 

Marty and I have never necessarily been pool people.  We both went to pools some when we were younger, but neither of us are particularly talented swimmers and never cared much for the pool one way or the other.  In our old neighborhood we didn't really have access to a pool, so our kids went to the pool a few times over our week of vacation and Elise had swim lessons through her school for a few weeks. Then there was the odd visit to a place with a pool. That has pretty much been the extent of the pool exposure for our kids to date.

We have a swim club at the end of our street, so we had been wresting with the idea of joining since we moved in.  Last summer we decided not to, since we missed the first few weeks of pool season and it was so expensive it didn't seem practical.  For the last few weeks we have been talking about it, going back and forth about what to do. It's expensive. And our kids don't know how to swim.  And because of our work schedules, we can pretty much only go on the weekends.  It seemed sort of a no-brainer that we would again pass on the pool membership this year.  Maybe it would be more practical when the kids are older.

But a few weeks ago we randomly stopped by an open house the pool was having and I have to say we were almost instantly sold on the idea once we were inside.  Of course we pass by the swim club and see it every single day, but there was something about being in there that made it so much more exciting.  Marty and I both had visions of our kids riding their bikes up to the swim club when they are older and making all of their best friends there.  It just seemed like such a great neighborhood kind of thing.

Long story short, we decided to join.  It's been two weeks and we are already considering ourselves pool people.  We joined over Memorial Day weekend, which just happened to feel more like mid-summer than spring, with temperatures in the 90's and super high humidity. It was perfect pool weather.  We went every day of the weekend for multiple hours and not only had a great time but also no one in our super pale family got a sunburn so we consider it a huge success. 

Just in the first few days our children have both already come a long way in terms of confidence in the water.  Luke, who originally said he "only wants to join the baby pool" became brave enough to try out the bigger pool and loves it. He is jumping in by himself and even putting his head underwater - something he was terrified of only a few days ago! The shallow end is only about 3 1/2 feet high so both kids can stand, which is very helpful.  Elise has been practicing holding her breath under water and by the third day she was pushing off the wall and swimming underwater, diving down to pick things up off the floor of the pool and even doing flips in the water (3 in a row!). 

The best part is that the pool is right on our street so we can walk there - even with pokey puppy Lucas - in less than five minutes.

I see a lot more fun times at the swim club in our future!