A Nice Change-Up

I made a trip to our local public pool this past week. Shannon had friends going and I thought it’d be a nice change-up from my mom & dad’s pools. Off we went the few blocks with our little bag, change-purse loaded for the required 10-minute breaks each hour.

I haven’t been to this pool since I was a teenager. As a kid I'd beg to go; all my friends went, and it boasted both a springy low-dive and a high-dive. Once again, it was a nice change-up from the usual family pool where we spent our summer days. I loved the thrill of diving off the high dive; the butterflies in my belly that were there every time I leapt off.

Unlike me, the pool hasn’t changed much. Years ago they took out both diving boards and the slide due to safety concerns. Yet now they’ve added back a low-dive, a covered slide, and a basketball goal.

The crowd consisted mostly of parents with young kids -- like us. Shannon and her friends enjoyed jumping into the shallow end, walking around on their hands in the baby pool, and the Doritos & M&Ms during break time.

What I enjoyed? The fact that I wasn’t self-conscious about myself in a swim suit. I was oddly, uncharacteristically accepting of my body. I didn’t worry about what other mothers thought of me, or the local male coaches that run the pool and its concession stand. I didn’t care a bit what other people thought; just simply enjoyed the sunshine, the conversation, and watching my daughter have fun.

It seems I’m slowly but surely quieting these snarky bitches in my head. It’s a nice change-up.

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