Reflections on a Wave Pool

Today I took my girls to White Water Bay, the local aquatic amusement park. It was Girl Scout Day, so we got in on a good group rate, and it gave us the chance to use the ridiculously expensive (but cheaply refilled) souvenir cup that we had picked up at its partner non-aquatic amusement park during Girl Scout day at Frontier City. I have now brought the price of a drink down to five dollars per mega cup. Aye, yi, yi.

Anyway, as the girls are now old enough and good enough swimmers to let out of arm's reach, I spent a lot of time at the edge of the pool, watching and reflecting on many, many things.

I watched many people with their small children and babies, seeing them play in the water for perhaps the first time, with the glee that babies and small children exude (when they're well-fed and not tired.) Then there were my girls who are at that, "see you later, Mom!" stage. Practically ready to move away, it feels like sometimes. Where did time go? And I must say, wherever it went, it has certainly taken my get-up-and-go with it.

You know, it's been 20 years or more since I went down one of those water slides, but I went today. I even enjoyed them. What I didn't enjoy was the five million stairs that lead up to them. After I went once down each slide, I was content to wait on a lounge chair as Maggie and Gracie raced up those stairs again and again. I just watched and remembered and wondered how time flew by so quickly. And I'm afraid it only gets faster from here.

P.S. to Jerry: Até mais, meu amor!