I LOVE swimming.

Take me to a pool anyday and I'll be happy.

I'm comfortable in the water. I like wearing a swimsuit. It just makes me feel young. Come on, what kid doesn't like swimming!? (Alright, I know there are kids who don't care for the wet pasttime, but when I was a kid, I was all about it!).

And that's really why I think I still enjoy it so much as an adult. It's nostalgia. Putting on my suit and walking into a pool reminds me of the days I rode my bike to the pool, my towel draped around my neck, my swimsuit the only thing I had on.

The smell of sunscreen immediately takes me back to being 10 years old, diving for pennies at the bottom of an old city pool.

I liked swimming so much as a kid that I became a lifeguard as a teen. I worked at city pools and the YMCA for seven years before graduating college and being forced to get a job that required me to wear clothes.

I didn't go to the pool much for a couple years after that. Mainly, it was too hard for me to not tell kids to stop running!

I wish I was kidding.

Since my son has been old enough to join swimming, though, I've made my pool comeback. And I love it.

I took my kids this weekend to an Omaha city pool. Others had the same idea. Omaha pools have been busier this summer than last, thanks to the heat. Read about that here.

For $8, we spent a couple hours relaxing in the water. It was great. And I'm already wondering how many more pool trips we can fit in before the summer is over.

posted by Veronica on Wednesday July 21, 2010