There. I said it.
Despite the fact that my husband worked doggedly in the wind and rain and sun to renovate the pool that he ... well ... broke.
From the moment he got it gurgling to a clear, if not dark-bottomed oasis again - the first time since we moved into the house - I've been counting the days until winter.
When we can close it on up again.
I can't stop thinking about the statistics. About the people we actually know, as well as those we've read about in the news, who have lost children in pools.
I can't stop thinking about how I could have been one of those statics myself, when I was a toddler and slipped into a pool at a party and sunk to the bottom.
But we can't live in fear. We have to be practical. And proactive.
Even if I am mostly NEGATIVE.
* No kids in the pool yard without an adult. Ever.
* No beginning swimmers in the deep end without an adult who is free to swim with them one-on-one.
* Not following the directions of adults is grounds for ouster from pool area for the remainder of the day.
And one positive ... The most important positive of all pool rules:
All children must learn to float on their backs first and foremost.
After they master that, we'll work on the crawl.
2 comments:
I couldnt agree more Siobhan I think we are the over protective generation and thats ok we know our babys will survive those years...
I never really learned to swim as a kid, and had one bad experience in a friend's pool . . . luckily someone noticed. But there were no adults around, and even teenagers shouldn't have been allowed in a pool without any supervision. Even though I grew up on the river and always in boats, I never really got beyond dogpaddling, so there was always some risk. When we had our kids, we agreed that learning to swim was a massively high priority, and we're glad we did. They're both as comfortable as otters in the water.
By the way, I finally learned to actually swim when I was 40. Never too late.
Post a Comment