A Return to my Childhood

Over the weekend, I took the girls to Atlanta to visit my parents and to swim in their neighborhood pool. We got a surprise when we arrived... neither of my parents was home when we first got there, so we went in and made ourselves some lunch. When I glanced out the sunroom window, I noticed something... I could actually see the old swingset frame. Not only that, but Michael's old baby swing that had been hanging on that frame since 1986 (looking quite dilapidated in the last several years) was gone!

The reason I could see this was because the small jungle that had taken over the swingset area had been cut back! The swingset is located in a wooded section of the property on the other side of the creek. My dad had gone across the bridge and done some serious work. He'd also taken down the old slide he had built for us over 20 years ago, and the whole swingset frame had been given a new coat of green paint. I wondered what the occasion was, doing this yardwork...

New swings! Apparently, my dad had decided that he'd clean up the swingset area and then get some new swings for the girls to enjoy when they visit! What a surprise! Thanks, Dad!! Both Cecilia and Caroline were excited to go out and swing for awhile.

Do you see the bushes behind the swingset? No, not those short little things, but the ones that are so tall that you cannot see the leaves and only the trunks are visible? Yes, those are twenty foot tall bushes! They were only about as high as the fence when I was a kid!

And I cannot believe how thick the trunks have gotten on those trees (pictured behind Caroline)!

On to Mountaire Pool... this is the neighborhood pool that my family has belonged to since I was very young. It has a kiddie pool (we always called it "the baby pool") and a big pool. We drove over after swinging to swim for awhile that afternoon.

You can see there is a low fence around the baby pool... and beyond the corner of the big pool is the deck. Up the stairs further is a large covered area in which potluck dinners, swim team celebrations, and private parties can be held. I had my 7th birthday party up there!

Cecilia liked splashing... even if it was tough to keep her balance as she tried to walk in the pool. I had to fish her out once or twice!

She LOVED the big pool! After getting used to it for a few minutes, she wanted to swim! I held her on her belly and told her to kick, and she did, as you can see. She didn't mind getting splashed and was almost about to jump out of my arms at times! Maybe she got my swimming genes... Caroline, on the other hand, got her Uncle Tim's swimming genes and as a result stayed close to the edge the whole time. She did get braver and walked out a little ways - since she is so tall that she can touch the bottom and still keep her head above water!

Just swimming along only balanced on one of my arms...

We are hoping to go to the beach later this summer... looks like Cecilia will love the pool at the condo! My little water baby!