Pool Time

Yesterday was a time for family gatherings at the pools.

Early in the day, I noticed a guy walk up with what looked like a guitar amp.  He set it down, flipped a switch, then reached into his pocket.  Out comes his cell phone.  He switched it to Bluetooth mode, and before you knew it, the silence was broken on this Sunday morning by the sound of country music blaring away.  Nothing like listening to songs about drinking beer, chasing women, and raising a little hell, all on a Sunday morning.  And the dude's name was Bubba.  His southern drawl told me he was from the neighboring state of Alabama!

Later in the day, it was  time for the babies to shine.  The little ones were all big enough to not have to those "swimmy britches".  Most, were not afraid of the water.  Some went charging right in, while others had to be coaxed to enter the deep (only 4.5 feet).

The momma's could lay back and relax because Grandma was ever present, barking orders, with towels at the ready, and filling the air with the smell of suntan oil spray.  What ever happened to the days of rub a dub dub?

The Dad's were the proudest, taking their positions as life guards and play directors where no grandmother would dare enter.  No beer drinking here, it was all about quality baby time.

  Dive sticks were being scattered for the young ones to go collect as treasure.  One stick was a bit too deep.  The youngster wanted it so bad.  You could tell from the facial expressions that he was bound and determined to get it, but his fear of going under made that dive stick that bridge too far.

The spousal unit had her eyes on this situation too and she was Johnny on the spot!  She helped him into the deep, held him, and suggested that he use his feet to grab that last dive stick without having to go under.  (She is an old swim instructor that still has her bag of tricks!). The smile on that boy's face was priceless when he pulled that last dive stick out of the water.  Success!

It was really nice to see some of these families interact on this prememorial day.  Some groups had four generations, others three, some two, and in our case, just the two of us.  Our turn comes today, as son #1 and his girly friend arrive late today.

The largest family group included a group of five alpha males.  Each one, trying to influence the others with his dominance.  The were all in the pool, all trying to  decide what game to play.  Once that had been decided, then there were the rules.  They literally spent more time deciding on what the rules would be than actually playing their game, which I never did figure out!

The complex had a picnic of ribs and all the fixings for all the owners and guests.  The Hostess said that they sponsor a pool party on each holiday, usually the day before, like today.  They had a band playing, and later, a watermelon eating contest for both young and old.  The funniest thing was the "adult bunch guard".  The table had two drink dispensers, one with water, and the other full of an adult beverage.  The kids punch pitcher was temporarily empty.  The adult punch looked so tempting to those kids, and believe me, they tried every trick in the book to get by the guard!  Finally a fresh pitcher arrived and the tension settled down.  The punch guard, was able to relax, took a deep breath, wiped his forehead, and let out a whew!

As the sun began to set, Florida's version of miniature mosquitoes began to arrive.  Those little bitty dots sure knew how to bite!

The day was done, time to rest up for another day in paradise!