The idea of hanging out, half-naked, baking my pasty, white skin in the sun with both strangers and people I know, while constantly on keep-someone-from-drowning-patrol really hasn't been my idea of fun in the past. Not to mention my hellish word association with the word 'pool' after our nightmare experience in Oregon taking care of THE WORST pool of all time at the home we were renting. I thought I was damaged on pools and swimming for the rest of my life.
But the pool in our neighborhood opened last weekend and my friend Laura convinced me not to be an idiot and go...and I have been back almost every day since. I don't mean to lay it on thick or anything, but I frequently find even more reasons to love our life in Georgia more than the day before. It just keeps on getting better; down to the little things like the neighborhood pool. I can park it in a chair and be three feet away from my two little ones in the two, kiddie pools and the two older girls can be right in front of me swimming in water they can stand in if they need to and still be close enough for me to watch without having to be in the water with them. Not to mention I don't have to dump or mix chemicals, vacuum, skim, pull dead rats out of the filter, figure out what the h*ll is wrong with the pump, take in water samples or any or that other garbage. I just show up. Blissful I tell you, just blissful. Also the neighborhood has an adult-only pool and a family pool that are completely separate. I never have to worry about annoying the weird dude, drinking a beer and working on his skin cancer next to me, because guess what, that dude is no where near me.
In addition to my other issues, my aversion to being at the pool has stemmed from the fact that I hate wearing a swim suit. I just feel so dang naked, like the whole world can see your every flaw. But after this week, I have decided that I can be at peace with the fact that there are 13-year-olds with bigger boobs than me. And also the fact that no matter what I do, I have cellulite on the backs of my legs. Guess what, so do 98% of the other women there. Even the ones that look like they are best friends with the gym. And there we are, walking around half-naked, with our dimpled, posterior thighs and no one cares. People are so laid back, so real, so polite. I just love where we live. I may yet not be a completely lame mom this summer and happily oblige when the Little Women beg to throw on their swimsuits and head out to the pool.