My Memorial Day

I realize that Memorial Day is more about celebrating and remembering those who have given themselves in service to our country, but for me, the first thing I think of when I hear the holiday is SUMMER! Please forgive me for being irreverent, but I just have such vivid memories of growing up, waiting so (im)patiently for the pool to open. To me, that was the true start of summer.

My mother was (is) afraid of water, so she made sure that her kids were enrolled in swim classes as soon as we were able. It helped that she was good friends with a family who owned the local swimming pool. I grew up taking lessons every summer up until I was in my early teens, we had birthday parties at the pool, my grandmother would take us during the week... we practically lived at the pool. I grew up with kids in my first years of junior high school picking on me because of my "green" hair due to the chlorine!

Cookouts, picnics, swimming lessons, pizza and junior mints from the snack stand, the really crummy bathhouse, and the squeaky fence surrounding the pool: all memories that are still fresh in my mind. Memorial Day to us was usually a cookout at the pool with friends. Since the family that owned the pool was the parents of friends of my parents, who in turn had kids my age, it worked out well. We'd all troop down to the pool and stay even after it had officially closed to have a semi-private party of our own! Our tradition went back years; my dad grew up life guarding at the pool, so it was also a place that my parents hung out as kids.

I haven't been swimming in years, and the old neighborhood pool has been closed for at least the past two years. Now that I have a new baby, I probably wouldn't be able to go myself for a while anyway. But it's sad to me that I won't be able to share the same experience with my kids. I'm hoping that someday, someone will buy the pool and give it a little upgrade and reopen it to the public (for a nice, affordable, family-friendly price of course). Until then, I suppose I've got a few years until my son is ready to jump into the deep end, and I guess if I have to resort to it, the Y should at least provide swimming lessons.

I guess we'll have to come up with our own, new Memorial Day tradition. Maybe I'll even find a way to let my kids know what the holiday is for, and we can honor our service men and women as we enjoy the start of summer and the opening of the local pool... Until then, at least I've got a little time before my kids start actually remembering what we do!

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My Memorial Day

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