I hate you....I'm jealous of you....I really want to be you....and, God willing, in a few years I will be. I've read all those posts about "Only 18 Summers" and how moms should not be ashamed of their bodies. Just forget it all and get in the pool and play with your kids. But if you are anything like me you've spent the last 10 years being splashed in the face, drug under water and responding to multiple children circling you like sharks while calling: "Mom, watch me do a hand stand!" "Did you see me jump in the water?" "Swim with me!" "Count how long I stay under water!" "Can I go down the slide?"
Everytime I've gone swimming for the last 10 years I've been in charge of someone not tall enough to touch bottom and keep their head above water at the same time. (With the exception of that one business trip at a Disney resort four years ago where I spent an afternoon at the pool by myself...and yes it was everything I dreamed it would be!) I have done my time putting life jackets on and taking life jackets off. I have treaded water in the deep end for an hour while waiting to catch children coming down the slide. And I'm tired.
Spending time at the pool is a summer tradition for me. My mom took me almost every day it seemed when I was little. And I loved it. She sat outside the gate, with all the other moms, reading her book and talking while my sisters and I played. I never felt neglected. We got a pool when I was a little older and she sat outside reading while we played. And we all turned out fine. None of us ended up drug addicted or in counseling because Mom was reading while we swam.
So in another few years, when all three of my precious children can stand on their own in the pool, and you see me lying on a deck chair reading a book or *gasp* scrolling through Facebook, don't judge me. Just pull up a chair and we'll talk.
Sincerely,
A Waterlogged Mama.
PS If you have 3 kids do you get 36 summers? Just asking.
