Lessons of the Season

We upgraded our Intex ‘blow-up’ pool this year after trying to fill last year’s pool and finding /multiple/ holes. (It was two or three years old so quite possibly the holes were inevitable from all the fun ‘n sun of years past!) This year’s pool is 15 x 42 and quite possibly the PERFECT size for my fish… ahem, boys, ages 5 and 7. They can actually swim if they want to and stand up at any point. There is a certain feeling of safety for them that encourages them to swim harder, play harder.

This morning it was still quite cool out (not the case anymore!) and they were already in swimsuits. Some days we seem to go right from pjs to suits… When lunch time hit they were still playing, swimming, splashing, so I asked them to get out to help get lunch on the table.

The 7 year old listened because he is my ‘rule follower’ (“Mom, WHY are you going 3 miles over the speed-limit when you aren’t supposed to?” Darn GPS on the dashboard that displays the car’s speed big enough for the back seat to read.)

However, the 5 year-old (Mr. Free-Will) got out … and then he got back in. Maybe he thought… “Hey I got out! Now I can get back in.” So after about two-minutes I realized that *C* was still not inside. I look out to see the splashes of little feet.

Sigh… So I called him immediately to the deck and reminded him about our ‘Buddy-Rule’. Always, Always, Always swim with a friend, or a mom (or dad) watching. The water isn’t deep. He could stand at any point. But all of those “what ifs”… and just as importantly a lesson for later when he is in deeper water, rules have been instilled at a young-age about swimming.

All kinds of rules revisited for summer: Sun-tan lotion, Swim-buddies, HOT grills. But despite them all we are LOVING this weather! It brings out the laughter, joy and FUN.