Today was one of the most typical days possible at the pool and it reminded me of what a great time I have working there. The day started off at 10:25, when I got to there and swim team practices were finishing up. We are giving preschool swimming lessons right now, and those are always fun: you can get a "dud," who is a kid who won't leave his or her mother/the side of the pool/the ladder, cries constantly, and makes you feel bad about your skills as an instructor. Or, on the other hand, you can get a "daredevil" who thinks its fun to jump in while you're turned around to get his/her floatie and nearly drown (these are pretty funny, because the kids don't realize that they're drowning. They enjoy struggling underneath the water. I don't get it.). I worked with a little girl who is almost a dud but with a little coaxing became not so bad.
After that, our day began with the foreboding sounds of loud little kids on the other side of the fence: the dreaded children of Mrs. Young's Summer Playground, or, as we call it, the Park Program. It's basically this free childcare thing offered to the community. The kids usually play at the park downtown, but come to the pool twice a week. Now, I'm not talking 10 or 15 kids. I'm talking something like 50 or 60. Today, we had 52 wild children running around the pool, losing their towels, causing trouble, and finding "lost" items. (I think I made one little boy's day by telling him he could keep the penny he turned into the lost and found.)
At 4, when they had finally left, things slowed down but at 6:45 we had to give another round of swimming lessons. Luckily for us, the pool temp is about 85 right now, which is really really nice. I have a really sweet little girl that I work with during night lessons. She's not quite a daredevil, but is willing to go underwater and that is always a relief. She likes me a lot and loves to talk. This kind of kid is the kind that makes me love to teach lessons.
After lessons were over, no one was left at the pool so we decided it was time to close up and play a game of lifeguard water polo, which we invented way back in my first year at the pool. I will say that my team dominated, and we did so with my help. I can't believe I almost didn't work there this year. What was I thinking?
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