Adult Play

It’s summer in Texas, and although high temperatures arrived distressingly early (we hit triple-digits in mid-May), it has since proven to be a somewhat milder summer.

But even when temperatures are “only” in the high-nineties, submerging oneself in the cooling waters of a swimming pool is the only outdoor activity a parent can reasonably propose to a child to get them out of the house and away from their screens. My daughter will usually run into a friend at the pool we frequent, and this is exactly what happened on a sunny afternoon earlier this month. As she and her friend splashed around nearby, I sat on the edge of the pool and visited with the friend’s mother. 

We left a few hours later and, after losing an argument about the necessity of showering before bed, my daughter eventually found herself in bed and in her PJs.

“Did you have fun at the pool?” she asked.

“Of course.” I replied in all honesty. “Did you think I didn’t have fun?”

“I don’t know. It’s just you never got into the pool. All you did was sit and talk.”

I explained that I enjoyed catching up with her friend’s mom whilst soaking our feet in the pool and that was more than enough to qualify the experience as enjoyable. My daughter considered this for a moment and then asked, “But why don’t adults play?”

I didn’t had no good answer for her then.

I still don’t.