Those Lazy Summer Days

I took my first swimming lesson when I was 9 years old. This marked the beginning of some very enjoyable summer memories. Every weekday morning my brothers and I would join our friends (another family with 3 kids) on the grass beside the pool. We would sit there in the sun playing with our mothers talking in the background. Every half hour someone new would come out of the pool and someone else would leave for their lesson. I don't think any of us were in the same lesson so we spend hours at the pool waiting our turn. It was fun. It was perfect. You were either excited about cooling off in the pool after waiting in the hot morning sun or warming up under the sun as you dried off. Once that round of lessons were done we would sign up for the next one. It cost $10 for two weeks of lessons.

We spent two summers following this routine. It was the third summer that it all fell apart. I was 11. This was the summer that our friends decided not to take swimming lessons. This was the summer that my instructor was 14. This was the summer when I started being self-conscience in a bathing suit. And this was the summer I decided to hide my bathing suit so I wouldn't have to go. I was actually a pretty good swimmer but I had started too late. I couldn't get past my perceived embarrassment of being 11 in a class with a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds and a 14 year old instructor. Finally, without our friends it was just boring waiting. That was the last round of swimming lessons for me and my brothers.

Now my girls are taking swimming lessons. They are considerable younger and that is OK. They won't be 9 wearing water wings. They might even have a chance to become lifeguards one day; which is a great summer job if you're a teenager.

Everything is changed. Most pools are indoor now. They have warmer water and you're not exposed to the elements. Lessons are year round so we all sign our kids up at different times of the year. I don't have friends to visit with during lessons. I almost had Tesla signed up with a friend but they had to cancel at the last minute. Even if we were all signed up for the same set of week of lessons, I don't think people are willing to sit around all morning on the hard chairs or bleachers that are provided at the indoor pools. And if were at an outdoor pool I don't think people would sit and sunbathe all morning at the grassy edge; there are too many skin cancer concerns. Of all my friends only one still embraces those lazy summer days. Her kids only do swimming in the summer; every morning; all summer; at the outdoor pool across the street. I kind of envy her. While the rest of us are stuck on a hard chair at the edge of some pool, surrounded by complete strangers, she is sitting on the grass with her kids playing beside her. She is enjoying the sun and the company of a neighbour. It's great for her. It's great for her kids and it's great for her community.