Come On In, The Water's Fine!

I went swimming with the kids today.  It is not unusual for me to take my kids to the pool,  but I'm usually sitting in a lounge chair reading a book.  That's what makes this a special day.  It was the first day this summer that I put on a swimsuit and actually got in the water.

The kids went in right away,  jumping off the diving board and swimming around each other like otters.  Then they played ball for awhile.  When the lifeguard blew the whistle for "adult swim" at the top of the hour,  they came over to my chair and grabbed towels to wrap  around their trembling shoulders. When the whistle blew again for "all swim" the three of them pleaded with me to get in the pool.  "The water is warm", they assured me. "You don't have to get your hair wet".  Okay.

There's always the dilemma of how to enter the pool.  The kids' method,  the diving board,  is out of the question.  I never learned how to bounce off the board and make a pretty dive,  and a cannonball in my mama swimsuit would be too ridiculous.  Walking in at the wide stairs in the shallow end is for moms with little ones who still wear water wings.  I decided to climb down the ladder into the 4.5 foot end,  where the kids were playing. 

They were right, the water was warm.  Until it hit my chest.  There is something about getting "all the way" into the water that makes me shiver,  no matter what the temperature.  I must have grimaced, because I heard the encouraging "You can do it, Mom!" shouted from across the pool,  as if I was going to turn around and climb out.  There,  I was in.  Then they all three swam toward me like sharks in a feeding frenzy. " Watch my somersault!"  "Let me swim under your legs." "Count how long it takes me to swim across and back."  They were very excited.

It's not that I don't like water.  I like it very much, actually.  I love to watch the ocean waves crash on the beach,  watch birds and boats on Lake Tahoe, listen to Colorado mountain rivers. I have even enjoyed kayaking in the water around Lopez Island, Washington.  I just don't like my body to be in the water.

 On vacation in Hawaii,  I couldn't snorkel because I got so anxious about breathing with that mask and the tube.  I know the fish and turtles are awesome to see and swim next to,  it was something I just couldn't do.  But a warm suburban swimming pool should be no problem.  Especially if I don't have to put my face in the water. Especially if it makes my children happy.

So I let them swim under my legs as a bridge.  I judged handstand contests and watched dives.  I smiled when they splashed my sunglasses (yes, I wear them in the pool.  They are prescription and my eyes are sensitive..)  With only my head and shoulders out of the water, my not-ready-for-swimsuit-body was hidden from view.  I was almost relaxed.

I considered training to be a lifeguard this summer.  Seriously.  I thought it would be a job that would let me be where my kids want to be all summer.  Watching the kids and keeping them safe is my main job, so it seemed logical that I would be good at it.  I know CPR.  But I talked  myself out of it because of the requirement to swim 300 yards (that's 3 football fields).  I didn't think I could do it.

 Now I wish I would have at least trained for the swim and tried to complete the lifeguard course.  It would have been a great way to prove to myself that just because I feel uncomfortable doing something doesn't mean I can't do it.  Maybe I will swim a few laps next time.  Maybe I will trade my shades for goggles.  Maybe I will be the one calling out to the kids, "Come on in,  the water's fine!"