What you are made to do makes you

The pool was woven into our everyday summer days. Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day six days each week. The pool was closed on Mondays.

My mother magically got all her work for the day done by 11 am when the Navy pool opened. Off we’d go until the whistle blew at 7 pm. It is still fascinating to me how she could do her daily routine with 9 kids at home and have us pulled together by 11 am all with a dinner plan in place before heading out the door.

My mom’s pack up kit included big brown paper grocery sacks filled to the top with PB & J sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, bags of Frito chips, and Hostess treats: Ding dongs, Ho-Ho’s, Twinkies, pink Sno-balls, and Suzy-Q’s! I am sure there was the obligatory fruit in the bag which we never ate. We even boycotted the Hostess fruit pies. What holds in my memory is the sugar and salt of the ’70s! Once a week we were given small change for a frozen treat from the snack shack. We drank water from the water fountain.

My mom was such a staple at the Navy pool that she kept her playpen there. One day a mom saw it and thought how convenient that the Navy pool had an available playpen for use. When we showed up Mom let her know that was our playpen and our spot on the deck. The spot was fairly strategic too. It was at the corner of the pool near a lane line shed. The playpen got a little shade from the shed. The baby pool and lap pool with the diving board were each in full view. Beyond the playpen and big grocery sacks, the other staple was Mom’s Washington Post. She read that paper cover to cover while we exhausted ourselves in the water.

Every hour the lifeguards would blow their whistles to signal rest period for any kid 18&under. While the kids crawled out of the pool, the adults jumped in for their lap swim. Early and rare memories of my mom include seeing her with bathing suit and frilly bathing cap easing her way down the pool ladder in the deep end. She’d paddle into a lane to swim laps. During rest period most of us would sit in the pool gutter keeping our legs in the pool staying cool. It was fun to watch mom swim. To see the woman I knew who cooked and cleaned like a machine do something in the water held my attention. My mom wasn’t a great swimmer. Perhaps it was the “I don’t want to get my hair wet” generation but she did her laps with head held high, arms stroking short and rapid flutter of feet. Once we moved from our swim lessons to the swim team I don’t remember seeing her in the pool anymore. She sort of “retired” from going in the pool. She was of course always still at the pool with us.

Here’s the thing, going to the pool is what we did as a family growing up. It wasn’t until you could walk home on your own or figure out transportation that other options came into play. We knew that whatever Mom said we are doing we did. But it never felt like we were made to do anything even though we were.

The Navy pool connected us to life long friends. One family, we met because one of the kids saw a line standing in front of a nice lady giving out free food from a big brown grocery sack. He got in line and showed his mom what he got. She marched him back to that nice lady to return the food. Seems my mom was head down in the paper and was just automatically passing out food. Friendship followed.

I wonder how my mom decided that the pool was the thing to do. The thing to do that we all do. That regular everyday summer rhythm went from playing, to lessons, to swim team, to swim meets, to lifeguarding, to teaching Red Cross swimming lessons, and even to managing the pool. For me, it significantly contributed to my nomination to the Naval Academy as a varsity swimmer. For my sister, it was a part of her journey to Olympic Gold.

The not-so-great swimmer made some really great swimmers. So while I wouldn’t say the pool is mom’s place, I can’t even think of the pool without Mom at it if not in it :-). What Moms make you do makes you. Smart moms do it and you don’t even realize what’s happening. I had a smart Mom.