Summer Fun in the Sun

I don't know if everyone feels this way but I'll always feel that sunny summer days are pool days. My siblings and I were pool rats as kids and spent as much time as we could hanging out at our local pool. We lived walking distance from the pool so the only things that kept us from going were storms and cool temperatures.

My mom had strict rules about what degree it needed to be for each outdoor activity. I guess it was so we wouldn't argue about stupid things but, whatever the reason, it worked. Instead of trying to wear Mom down about something we wanted to do, we just dialed time and temperature over and over until the temp was right.

The temperature for going to the pool was somewhere around 85, I can't remember exactly. But the second it got hot enough, we were out the door at a run. What is it about kids and pools? We would stay there all day. I don't remember eating anything there except maybe a candy bar.

The diving board was probably the best thing of all about the pool. I would line up with all of the other kids and jump, dive, and do cannonballs over and over again. Even now, watching kids jump or dive off the diving board takes me back in time to those simple days of summers past.

The smell of sunscreen, the sun's rays beating down, and the cool water of the pool bring forth a mental image of being a carefree pool rat. I don't know if kids today enjoy the pool as much as I did but probably not. They have video games, iPhones, and other electronic gadgets to keep them busy in the summertime.

Kids don't know what they're missing by spending summer days indoors. Give me the pool anytime. A good book, a comfortable chair, the sound of kids' voices calling out as they splash around, and a jump into the pool from time to time to cool down. That's what summer is to me.