Swim!

One of the things I have loved most this summer has been going to the public swimming pool. I loved being at the public pools as a kid, but I remember it was pretty chaotic there, with lots of older kids doing cannonballs right next to you, and lots of shouting, and not a lot of space. I've been delighted to find that at our local pool in Portland, this is not the case. Maybe it's not cool for teenagers to hang out at the pool? It just seems really serene there, and one day a couple weeks ago, it was slightly chillier than our normal 95-100 degrees around here, and when a gray cloud rolled in above, everyone cleared out. Our family literally had the pool to ourselves. Needless to say, we were loving it.

This is the first summer we haven't had what I call a "Dry Summer", which is a phrase not about the outdoor humidity, but about the state of our swimsuits. Penny hasn't really taken to the water very easily, despite her preschool going to the splash fountain daily ("I don't like to get my hair wet," she tells me touching the back of her neck). Half of our public pool is about 2 feet deep, and so calm, and Penny has really started enjoying it. She loves playing with the pool noodles, riding on the floaties, and jumping in from the side, holding both my hands. When she asks me about the people sitting in the chairs, I tell her the lifeguards are there to keep us safe, and she beams from ear to ear. Lulu, of course, is interested in any new experiences, smiling the whole time, barely keeping her tongue in her mouth. When Lulu is happy, her tongue always waggles as she grins from ear to ear. The swimming pool! We'll see you there very soon, again.