July, 19 2009

Into The Pool

by The XY Files

The past several weeks have been unseasonably cool, with temperatures at night dipping into the low 50s - not exactly ideal summer weather conditions. Before that we had what seemed like two straight months of rain. I started to think that my kids might not get the chance to go outside and have fun in the sun this summer. That is, until this past week, when the familiar icky, sticky humidity and high heat of summer finally showed itself, much to my chagrin.

I really don't like this season. In fact, this is my least favorite season of all. The heat and humidity are no friends of mine. There is no joy in getting in a car that has been out sitting in the sun. All of the neighborhood kids are out of school (and let's face facts; mommies and daddies are not kids anymore. The thrill of "summer vacation" has definitely eroded into a season of having to take your kids to swim clubs, zoos, beaches, amusement parks, and other locations that are filled with lots and lots and lots of people). Also, the only sport is baseball, which is low on my sports priority list. I'm a hockey fan, and hockey is played on ice. In the winter. When the temperatures are cold.

I know that I am not in the majority in regard to my opinion of the summer season, but for me, being hot and then trying to cool off is far less comfortable than being cold and trying to stay warm.

Now that the heat and humidity are finally here (and they probably won't be going anywhere for another two months), my kids have the opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors. No longer should they be parked in front of the television all day because the rain is keeping us inside. Shortened should be the hours spent playing educational computer games because of unseasonal temperatures. Our newborn has arrived, my wife is feeling better, and there is no reason that the kids cannot get the heck out of my house and introduce their exquisite mess-making abilities to the backyard. Maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to keep the house a little neater!

>[?My sister-in-law inadvertently gave us a decent sized inflatable pool (it was her pool but my mother-in-law thought it was ours and gave it to us), about six feet long and four feet wide with two foot high inflatable sides. Finally, my kids had a proper pool to play in (they're little so for them this pool is gigantic) and we had a surefire way of getting them to stay outside and get tired at the same time. They absolutely love playing in the pool, even if they don't understand that they are allowed to sit down and swim around in the pool. Or that, unlike the bathtub, if you get water on your face, you don't have to constantly get out of the pool to go dry your face off. But they will learn in time that the pool is a lot of fun, even if your little brother is picking up the hose and spraying you.

Watching the kids playing in the pool reminded me of growing up and getting to go in the pool. I never had a pool, despite my constant requests for one. My parents tried to tell me the yard was too small but I never believed that for a second. That meant that any pool-related activities would have to take place at the houses of friends or relatives. And then it was not your pool, so you did not have the freedom that would come with having your own pool. If I had my own pool, I would have had massive G.I. Joe boat battles in the pool.

Then there was the swim club, which was a rather gross place. A whole bunch of people swimming in a big pool together? Sure the pool is chlorinated but all those people? That's a germophobe's nightmare. Not to mention the kiddie pool with its yellow-shaded patches of warm water. And the swim club I used to go to (which was a rare trip at that) had Adult Swim, which meant every half-hour or so the pool was Adults Only, which is not at all as sexy as the name intimates. Adult Swim was composed of many old ladies in swim caps.

Other summertime water fun when I was growing up included putting the sprinkler in the front yard. There was a simple joy to running around barefoot through the sprinkler. Now I would be concerned about bugs and dirt and grass getting stuck to my feet and legs. As a kid, though, there is just pure unadulterated fun. Granted, as a kid, I also thought that the rubbery taste of hot water coming from a garden hose tasted great. Now I would worry that the rubbery taste was going to make me sick.

One of the greatest variations of the sprinkler was the Slip N Slide. A long, flat piece of plastic with a place to hook up a garden hose. Water gets sprayed onto the plastic and then you run as fast as you can and slide uncontrollably down the plastic strip. Great fun - until you hit a rock or a root that went unnoticed when you were spreading out the Slip N Slide. In my backyard, one trip down the Slip N Slide would result in multiple cuts, abrasions and posslble fractures. Which is why I will be sticking to the pool.

Our pool does not have the allure of an in-ground model, or even the allure of a fancy above-ground pool. But for my kids the pool is just right. They will be able to recall summertime memories of playing in their very own pool and we can feel good about getting them out of the house and enjoying the fresh air. The pool is a simple way of having a good time, just like my father-in-law's brilliant idea of adding his air compressor hose to a 5-gallon paint bucket filled with soap and water, creating the most amazing bubble machine in the world, and all for free. Free, simple and fun are three things that make for real summer enjoyment. Even if the humidity is a real bitch.

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