Swim Club

A Mother's View From The Ground

My doctor said, "Amy, at least once a year you should stay up all night, sprawled against the ground." It's good for the joints, she told me, and of course, for bone density. Right...

This summer, I swore, would be different. This summer, I would afford myself a little luxury. So, I purchased an expensive air mattress with a fancy name and its own motor for speedy inflation. I sent my husband and daughter over to the Beachcomber to assess the lay of the land and set up some place that might be relatively quiet. Unlike a previous year, we determined that camping near the ever-flushing toilets might not work.

When I arrived, all was well, and all I had to do was throw on my sheets, my cozy comforter and allergy-fighting pillow. My husband said goodnight around 10:00 and my daughter and her pals looked forward to a night of swimming and whispers. I climbed onto my mattress, book in hand, ready to relax. Fifteen minutes later, I was lying flat on the hard ground!

Hillary, our life guard, vacuumed air into the mattress and two boys I did not know helped me lug it back into my tent. Another fifteen minutes. Back on the ground. This time, I telephoned my sleeping husband who drove over with our old air mattress that usually can never be blown up. Once again, Hillary used her trusty vacuum. This time, I was fully airborne. By midnight, I did not care.

By midnight, I did not care that my blankets were still in the van or that I might be cold. I did not care that there were crumbs in the tent or I forgot my Benadryl. I was ready for sleep, but my daughter was not. Having set up a room divider, my daughter and four or five friends squeezed inside her compartment to nosh Crispy Rice Bars and proceed to the whispering portion of the night.

I was living every mother's dream. I was the fly on the wall. Listening to words I should not have, stories I wish I did not, what I finally heard was the murmuring of nine, ten, and eleven year old girls that could have been my own. Giggles and occasional guffaws reminded me of friends I haven't seen in years and dreams I haven't dreamed since then.

The girls promised to meet in the morning and precisely at six, I heard my tent's zipper open and close as they left into the morning air to continue whatever it is they were doing in the night. Exhausted, not really lucid, pouring the Beachcomber's coffee into me, and doubting I would ever do this again, I watched my daughter swimming and listened to her tell me, "This is the one of the best days of my life."

Next year, I'll bring two tents and move farther from the midnight marauders, those laughing lifeguards.

—Amy Small-McKinney

 

The Schedule of Events has been updated for 2001. The Leisure Time Class Schedules are now posted on the wall facing the patio..

We've added a membership form and membership information for those of you might be discovering our co-op swim club via the Internet.
[Don't worry; we're not a dot.com company.
We've been in existence for forty-three years, which is eons in Internet Time.]

 

 

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