5 Reason’s I Love my Community Pool !

I love the happy chaos of my community pool.

As New York’s Hudson Valley temperatures finally creep up to reach the 90s, we hit the pool.

It has been a chilly spring. I love heat — the more pulsing and humid the better. Call me crazy (many do) but I like wavy heat rising up off of pavements.

Last weekend was free weekend at the pool. Waves of people appeared to search for shade as kids splashed happily in the water. Neatly packed pool bags were promptly upended in a frantic hunt for goggles, the other half of a bikini, and sunscreen.

Voices wafted by.

“Marco,” shouted someone. “Polo,” called someone else.

Small plastic water torpedoes darted liked minnows in the shallows of the water.

These are the things I love about my community pool.

1. It is egalitarian. Anyone can join for a (comparatively) nominal fee. Kids play easily together without any artificial distinctions and divisions. Games of monkey in the middle spontaneously begin at the behest of the kids themselves. Squabbles are similarly resolved because getting out of the water to get parents to mediate seems like a pain.
2. The snack bar. The snack bar has some increasingly decent offerings — a quinoa salad with kale, for example. Happily, it also still stocks 1970s-style Charleston Chews and frozen Milky Ways. The line moves slowly but the kids are able to navigate the snack bar themselves. It is a healthy nod to coming independence. It also signals the downside of independence (hint: responsibility.) For example, the idea that if your mother tells you not to buy another junky thing, you really should learn to be as good as your word. Or face the consequences — a rollback of this small freedom.
3. The lifeguards. Nothing makes me feel older (but in a pleasant way) than seeing toddlers grow into able lifeguards. This suggests a nice progression wherein in kids who were once taken care of now provide care.
4. The toddler wading pool with a fountain. I am not sure there is anything cuter than a baby discovering cool water on a hot day. The folds and contours of their sweet, soft little baby bodies guide the rivulets of cool water and they they squeal in delight. This seems like such a seminal discovery. The pleasure of cool water on a hot body.
5. Pool toe. The amount of (absolutely necessary) chlorine together with the surface on the pool can do a job on toes. You know it is summer when pool toe is endemic. There seem to be few effective Band-Aid options here, but we do our best.

I can burn up a whole day at the pool as I watch my kids develop confidence and respect for the water. There are, of course, moments of tedium (reapplication of sunscreen) but I know that someday I will miss that pool.

Let the underwater tea parties begin!

Article Credit: Tara Shafer – Babycenter.com –