Public Pool Moms

I'm sure I've posted about being a mom at the public pool before, right?  

If not it's because I was either too exhausted, too annoyed, or just starving.  

Don't get me wrong, it's fun playing with the kids at the pool.  Seriously, fun... like playing Barbies or "Hide-And-Go-Seek" fun.  And it's not bad, just kinda hard.  Like the kind of hard mom's don't admit to other moms because it would make you should like a crappy parent.  

This year I feel as though I've flipped my graduation tassel to the left.  I'm knocking on wood, but I think I actually passed the playing with my kids at the pool years.  

Which means I get to be one of those pool goddesses I've only dreamt of.  

You all know them.  They're the moms laying on the plastic pool chaise lounges, sparkling in suntan oil, hair Bobbi-pinned up, sunglasses on, and probably asleep while their kids laugh, splash and spend the afternoon independently with friends. 

So as I sit on the chaise lounger in the mom goddess section, I observe.  And I see SO MANY phases of motherhood at the pool. 

I see the pregnant mom in the water carrying a toddler on her hip while keeping an eye on her older one who desperately wants to be in the deep end.  

I see the mom trying so hard to "play" with her kids in the water that you know deep down she counting down the minutes until the next pool check, so she can tell the kids it's time to leave.  And those minutes tick SLOW.

The mom who snuck fruit snacks and pretzels in her beach bag so she won't need a part-time job to cover concession stand costs and gets busted by a pimply 15 year old for having pretzels in the 'non-food area of the pool. 

The mom trying to act carefree in her swimsuit, but can't stop checking and re-checking that her right boob isn't trying to set itself free each time her kid tugs on her shoulder.

The 'fun' mom who finally gives into going down the slide with her kids (might make the time go a little faster) but actually loses her top, or her bottoms go a little too low upon the impact of the water.  

The mom who can't find one of her kids, but attempts to act natural as she keeps her eyes on her littles while internally praying to God they haven't been sucked into the vacuum at the bottom of the pool or kidnapped by a sex trafficker. 

I get these ladies.  I've been them.  

And I see them look at the goddess mom section of the pool- just waiting for the day it's finally their turn.   

I'd love to let them in on a little secret.

Those chaise loungers?  They're hot and sticky... and full of spiders.  The sun beats on you until you apply enough sunscreen to fry an egg on your chest.  You begin to notice you're in desperate need of a shave and pedicure.  The sun is too bright to see the screen of your phone, so you end up watching all the moms in the pool playing with their kids.  You remember when... and start to realize the grass isn't necessarily greener on this side of the pool. In fact, after an hour it's downright sweaty and boring.

So I walked over to my kids, intentionally NOT checking the status of my boobs, dove into the deep end with them, and touched the bottom of the pool.  I swam like a frog (according to them), went off the drop-off slide, lost my top for a moment, swam like a mermaid along the bottom of the pool, and for a moment,  felt like a 10-year-old again. Somehow the time flew.

Maybe the pool goddess status I've been longing for has nothing to do with chaise lounges, sunbathing and naps... perhaps it means finally being able to play in the water not with my kids, but LIKE my kids.