Happy Pools

Soon it will be time to register for our summer pool memberships. With that in mind, I have been thinking about the summer. It's going to be a typical summer for us. But, that's how we like it. For me, the best summers are when it's hot and sunny. Because that means swimming!

I have always been a pool person. I hate the beach. I'm too scared of ocean life to go that far into it. But, pools are special. It's one of my comfort places. I am very at peace being surrounded by water. Bathtubs aren't good enough. It has to be a pool.

It feels like a baptism. As the water grazes my body, it hugs me. I float, I bounce, I swim, I walk through it, and I go to the bottom and swim across it. As a kid I had amazing lung capacity. I used to make it a long distance at the bottom of the pool before needing to come up for air. Life guards would be on the edge of their seats watching me closely. According to my parents and childhood babysitter, Dona. I still like doing that. I just can't go nearly as far with my own breathing issues. But, I could bounce on a noodle chatting with Josh for a long time. If the water temperature is just right.

My parents signed me up for swim class when I was about 6 months old. My dad loves this story. When it came time to dunk us babies underwater, I came up giggling in joy. The other babies cried. My natural instinct with pools has always been "this is awesome!"

I often dream about pools and the symbolism is usually maternal comfort (me or my mom), calm, peace, God, and a lot of other positive things. Bad things don't happen with pools in my dreams. I still remember one I had about 11 years ago. I dreamt that I lived in a big house and every room was full of pools. The stairs were a lazy river in one place too.

Lately, I close my eyes and remember the summer feeling of being in the pool. I feel that whoosh as the water grazes over my arm. Knowing about my sensory processing disorder I understand that particular interest now. The water soothes my senses. I can focus on one sense at a time. If the water is the right temperature, all of the sensations are usually positive. It's therapeutic. I am drawn to things that calm my senses. Because that calms me.