I was shivering with cold, wet and exposed, brushing up against hoards of nearly-naked strangers with spotty backs and miserable faces. The urge to escape smothered me as children's screams bounced off the walls and made my ears hurt. Boredom pinched me with its cold mean fingers as I forced myself to smile, aching to be home reading the paper and drinking hot tea.Thirty l-o-n-g minutes earlier we had approached the front desk: "Four for swimming please", smiled Big G. The children scrambled into their swimsuits in a froth of excitement: "Watch me!" they whooped a hundred times, swimming from Mum to Dad and back again, daring to go, gasp, "right under!" Goggles and wet hair got crazy and tangled. What fun. The wave machine came on (with the Hawaii Five 0 theme tune at top volume), so the children leapt about like seal pups, diving down, bursting up for air, laughing with skinny legs and arms sticking out all over the place.
S-i-g-h.
Oh but we remember the fun WE had when we were that age!!
ReplyDeletei'm not a big fan of swimming. probably because i'm not very good at it lol but my kids? they will swim all day no matter the temp of water or air, if they're lips are turning purple and they're shivering like mad ppl. i get in the water only occasionally just because they asked me to.
ReplyDeleteI used to go and stay in the swimming pool for hours on a Saturday then spend the rest of the day stinking of chlorine and being completely disoriented as my head continued to bob whilst I was on dry land. Better than drugs!
ReplyDeleteCan't bring mself to go now though as too many people wee in the pool!
Ahh how can you not enjoy that?!
ReplyDeleteOf course there is the thing about the wee that MOB mentioned....
I don't feel so enthusiastic about swimming pools as well now... :D
That's what parents do...pretend they're having fun while sitting poolside just watching...you're a good Mom!
ReplyDeleteSandi
What is wrong with those children anyway? Having fun in the water like that, while their poor parents suffer. I bet you weren't like that when you were a kid. Right?
ReplyDeleteThe things we have to do so that they can have fun:-)
ReplyDeleteSpotty backs. Eurgh!
I remember that.... the forced aching fixed smile while Kay- a mere tot - frolicked about in front of me, ducking and diving. I can't swim a stroke, so used to gallantly wade in up to my chest and not dare any further. When the wave machine came on, I would make for the shallows and wonder how the kids just loved it.
ReplyDeleteOh dear...I am just having a vivid memory of taking my Mum to a water park called 'Waterworld' aged about 10 and laughing as she shot down a slide and became submerged under a rubber ring. (My mum was someone who didn't even like getting her hair wet in the swimming pool...)
ReplyDeleteCould be worse, you could be at the beach dealing with sand and salt water ... hey I'm just trying to find a less pleasing way to spend the day ...
ReplyDelete:-Daryl
I must admit I have resorted to a joint private swimming lessom for my 5 year old and a friend. The thought of having to do all that AGAIN was just too much for me. Now I don't have to get in the water!
ReplyDeleteSo you couldn't get them out then?
ReplyDeleteOh, the fun! :-)))
ReplyDeleteAnything for a clean house, I used to say. Playgrounds in the rain, sledding in the fridging cold, anything to wear them down, keep them from tearing down the house (an easy task for four little ones). The worst was a vacation where the indoor pool had a whirlpool attached, and kids were only allowed in with the parents.
Yep, that is definitely love. We could measure love in the things we do for our kids that we would otherwise avoid like the plague couldn't we.
ReplyDeleteYes, but did you rush into the mock surf and hilariously be dragged under?
ReplyDeleteWow, that was fabulously put. I hate swimming, it makes my hair go fuzzy...
ReplyDelete