I have a long list of perfectly preserved memories from my childhood summers.
Late nights on the porch with my little friends, swatting mosquitoes until my mom hollered from inside. Riding my bike to the neighbourhood park (which was much too far a jaunt without parental supervision by today’s standards – sans helmet or cell phone for emergencies too!). Watching MuchMusic endlessly as one lazy day stretched into the next, hoping to catch A-Ha’s video for “Take on Me” or Belinda Carlisle’s “Mad About You”.
Of course, if I had to isolate one summer memory – just ONE thing that defined my entire summer – it was the kiddie pool. How I entreated my parents to fill it up every morning! Heating under the strong sun, the temperature would be perfect for a late afternoon swim (and by swim, I mean sloshing around in water about 12 inches deep). I sat in the pool and took my Barbies for a dip. Boats were constructed of Lego. Tiny shovels and pails rhythmically scooped and tossed water over the side. This was summer.
(I begged and begged my parents for a Crocodile Mile to no avail. Pfft. They didn’t even seem mildly interested in how this one piece of plastic could take my neighbourhood popularity to unforeseen heights. Ah well.)
With my own two little boys, I’m happy to carry on the tradition of the kiddie pool. In fact, after recently inflating the specimen, my husband and I concluded that kiddie pools have made few changes by way of structure and innovation since the 80’s. But why mess with a good thing, right?
And the boys LOVE it. Donning their adorable swim trunks and large arsenal of water toys, they make their own magical summer memories.
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