Growing up, we spent so much time at the town pool. Everyone did. There was such a high demand to join the pool, there was a waiting list. There has always been a paid membership to go but my parents always called it the biggest bargain of the summer because we were there so often! There are four pools which include a splash pool, training pool, diving tank and an Olympic sized pool. There are even dive towers for those brave enough to try them out! I believe the highest one is 10 meters! I have never been up to the top but have been told you can see New York City from up there! As a kid, I went off the first one, (the low one,) all of the time. That one wasn’t too scary. I jumped off the second tower once and that was enough for me.
My kids used to love going to the pool. We’d go nearly everyday. Now that they are older, I have to beg them to join me. I can only get Drew to tag along if I bring along one of his friends or promise him dinner from the snack bar – which actually has a great selection of food. Of course, with his picky eating habits usually gets the same thing every time, chicken fingers and fries but there are plenty of healthier options too. I haven’t even been able to get DJ there at all this year. He hasn’t even activated his badge and summer is nearly over!
I vaguely remember this happening when I was a teenager too. Feeling like I was just “too old” to go to the pool with mom. I’d only go if we were meeting up with friends. Having a brother eight years younger than myself, meant we often sat near the baby pool and everyone else was up near the “big pools.” The pool is such a social place. I remember when we were kids, my mom and all of her friends and their children meeting up there everyday. They’d bring lunches and we’d picnic there. We’d get ice cream treats at the snack bar and spend hours there together. One of our favorite things was to sit and “paint” the sidewalks with the water from the baby pool with the big fat paintbrushes we would get each summer from the hardware store. It is still like that. Just yesterday I saw a new batch of toddlers painting the sidewalks with their own paintbrushes and it flooded me with memories.
Today, I was actually able to convince Drew to go with me. We are bringing one of his friends. The two of them can go off on their own. I still make him have a check in spot. Just to come by once in awhile to let me know he is okay. We are going for dinner. I might even be able to convince him to stay until closing! Those used to be some of my favorite nights as a kid. It was a treat for us to have my dad meet us there after work.
It is kind of like coming full circle when I go to the pool now. I remember my own days at the baby pool, then days with my own boys sitting around that same pool and now seeing children who I babysat for or even some of my very first students at that same pool with their own children! Bittersweet but lovely memories. It is truly one of my favorite places to spend my summers.
A Project for Kindness 