Adult Swim?

-written at the Sahara pool in Vegas-

I miss being a kid at the pool. As I watched as a little girl helped slip on her younger brother's water wings and then the two of them excitedly skip over and jump into the water, I couldn't help but remember my days of frolicking in that same water from days beginning to end. I would get up at 645 in the morning, throw on my suit, hop on my bike, and head out the door. I'd meet up with my girlfriends on the way, first Heather, then Maya and Lindsay, and finally Lissa (as the years past some of the names changed, but the routine remained the same). We'd peddle hard to the Piney Creek Clubhouse, and dive energized into the pool for our two-hour swim practice. As the workout came to an end, we'd bring in the lane ropes and proceed on with a game of marco polo, sharks & minnows, or watermelon water polo. When the games were over the group would dissipate. Maya and I would usually head back to her house for breakfast--scrambled eggs and toast-- I'm not sure why, but eggs always tasted especially good when they were made at Maya's.

After breakfast we might watch a little TV or a movie for a bit, but we would most definitely head back down to the pool. This was of course after changing out of our practice suits and into the more fashionable one and two-pieces of the time...the light blue one-piece with the white polka dots that I’d stolen from Abi was my favorite.

This time at the pool, friends both on and off the team joined us. We would stay there for hours entertaining ourselves with dunking contests, chicken fights, and diving board tricks. In fact, the only things that could interrupt us were a trip to the PDQ for a snack (some people brought sandwiches...I never seemed to have that foresight) or the dreaded words..."Adult Swim." I can remember literally sitting at the edge of the pool for those agonizing 15 minutes of each hour longing for the lifeguard to blow the whistle and the fun to resume. Sometimes I'd see Tolu stop by with his friends, but they'd never stay long...they never enjoyed it like we did. I could have lived at that pool. The 1.5 mile ride back home was always a somber one; it wasn't just saying goodbye to my friends, or the fact that my ride home was almost entirely up hill, it was the knowledge that nothing that awaited me at my house would be as much fun as my day at the pool.

Nowadays it's hard to believe that I was ever that girl. I don't even like the sun, and not in any vampiric or beatnik in my sunglasses and beret sort of way, it's just that I really hate the uncomfortable feeling of being hot and I'm more and more concerned with skin damage. How is it that I who believed that I was a dolphin reincarnated into human form, have been at this pool for three hours under cover of my shaded cabana and have only gotten into the water once? And before you ask...no, I didn't even get my shoulders wet, let alone my head.

Truth be told, I do miss that little girl. She pops up from time to time when faced with the vast beauty of the Pacific Ocean, but for today I guess I'll just enjoy the dry Vegas breeze, my SPF 50 sunscreen, and the kid-filled pool...at a distance.