Monday 18 August 2008

of recklessness and water

The kids have a pool.

It's not a big pool, nor a deep one, but it's perfect for my two jump-arounds, whose idea of a good 'swimming' is to jump in, kick frantically, then jump out and go tearing around the yard, coming back panting to splash! in again.

I've been dumping and re-filling the pool almost every night to get rid of the dirt and grass stems that cling to their busy little feet.

Today was no different. They went off to bed, snuggled in jammies, smelling of mango shampoo and toothpaste, and I went out to clean the pool and re-fill it for tomorrow.

And then I got immersed in email and only remembered the hose was on when there was a dull sloshing sound coming in through the window.
Oops.

I went running for my shoes, turned off the hose and stared down at the (full-to-the-brim) sagging pool, one side listing to let out a good stream of water.

There was something in the warm night air, something soft and familiar, something about the crickets and the night sounds and the way the evening trembled on the edge of becoming night. Something tugging at the edges of my memory.

And as I pushed on the side of the pool and let the cold water from our well flow over my wrists I was reminded of night swimming in the bay, of nights where the end of day didn't mean the end of having fun, of swimming in clear fresh water that ssshusshed on the shore. Of times spent playing in the falling dusk- feet up, floating in the shallows, breathing in the sultry summer air
and

just

being.




The moon is low tonight.

13 comments:

Woman in a Window said...

Nice...
for a minute there i thought you were gonna jump in!

And yes, I wonder when my own kids will enjoy the evenings as time without parameters and play directed by themselves by the lake's edge. Instead, bath at 7, then snack, then bed. We're really missing something.

crazymumma said...

you are killing me.

softly.

with your words.

insert music now.

kimmyk said...

i miss moments like that when you can just be.

i miss summer for what it was meant for.

i'll try really hard to remember this for next year.

remember like next may to repost this so i can remember. okay? don't forget now.

OvaGirl said...

beautiful...

Chantal said...

hmmm all of a sudden I feel so relaxed. I will have to reread this at 3pm when I am ready to jump out of my office window :)

Caro said...

I miss those days. There was no mortgage, no kids, no worries. It was all about me. :-)

mamatulip said...

What a lovely snapshot of a moment in time...

Don Mills Diva said...

Lovely, just lovely.

Something about summer evenings sends me traveling down memory lane too...

BabelBabe said...

wow. the nostalgia bug has bitten many people today. me included.

i thought you were going to jump in, too...

Vanessa said...

What a wonderful memory. I also thought you were going to jump in the pool.

Anonymous said...

I think it is a Michigan thing..I often feel that way when I am out on my kayak at sunset.Just something you can not put your finger on.

molly said...

Which just goes to show there's more to life than e-mail.....The moon had a beautiful bright ring around it in the wee hours this morning. I woke up and went out to look because I'm trying to see this big mars event---or did someone majorly pull my leg on that??

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah...I've done this before. It feels awesome.

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