When my insanely gorgeous wife and I were looking to buy a house, one very important amenity we wanted was a pool. Living north of Mulholland Drive, the temperature seems to jump about 1800 degrees. So, water to submerge the kids in after their running around the surface of the sun, was a necessity.
We did manage to get a pool, a pretty sweet one actually. Its kidney shaped if you care, and if you don’t, well, it’s kidney shaped. Our sons are now three and a half and one and a half. Reagan Fletcher and Riley Wilson. Absolute dreams. A whole book the size of both Bibles (aren’t there two?) could be written to describe the amazing coolness of these boys. Biased? You bet your ass.
Their favorite thing to do, by far, is to swim in the pool. Riley is new to the pool and my main goal for him is to not drop little diaper treasures in the perfect water. Any thing else is a bonus. Reagan is actually swimming, diving, wading, peeing and doing all kinds of other cool and gross things in the “big tub” now. He lives for the water. He is just like his old, old, old, old man. To me, there is no place better for a human, than in the pool. No cares (aside from falling asleep and taking a watery night night), no worries, no stress, no work, no money, no honey, no pumpkin pie or needle in your eye. Just plain old fashioned, innocent, child like fun.
Some of my fondest memories are when I was a kid at the neighborhood swim club: Covered Bridge Swim Club (we despised the neighborhood rival Barclay Swim Club and all the stupidness they stood for fyi). My brothers and I had swim team there. We played water baseball, greasy goose, duck duck goose, the moose is loose, dive and splash the bitchy lifeguard game and all kinds of other awesome, silly named adventures.
There was a sense of community, camaraderie and fun about it all. The pool is a place to be free, to be a kid, to have fun. It is an opportunity to recharge in a world full of chaos and instant gratification. Me, I need that place more than my kids do. I need to remember that I am on this planet to love others and enjoy my life. I keep that in the forefront of my mind, I can deliver a message of hope and love to my kids and those around me. I can hold my head up high and know that I have a positive purpose and that is to be the best father I can be.
When I get out of the pool with my little angels, we fire up that bbq and sit outside with mommy as a family, and enjoy our short little time together on this Earth. Isn’t that everything? You bet your sweet, sweet butter it is.
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