Emma Jones

ENGL 2250

Memoir

It was a hot summer day. After weeks and weeks of the cold and non-stop rain. We finally had a

hot summer day. Of course since the weather was nice we had to get outside. I asked Zoe what

she wanted to do. Immediately she responded with: SWIMMING! Mama, I want to go to the pool

and swim without my floaties on. I remember telling her that I thought that was a great idea,

since she’s learning how to swim. The pool at our apartment had maintenance going on, so I

thought we better go to the recreation center up the road. As I'm driving to the pool, I've got the

windows down, letting the breeze in. I look over my shoulder and see Zoe and Iris’s faces with

excitement from grin to grin. It was just one of those days that was going to be good no matter

what. We arrive at the pool, and the parking lot is packed. Which is to be expected with this

nice weather. We end up having to park on the street a few blocks away. As we’re walking to

the pool Zoe and Iris are holding hands, walking side by side. Their little chuckles are as bright

as the sunshine. When we get to the gate, they’re running out of patience, it’s hard being a

toddler and having to wait to get into the pool after you’ve seen it. We end up finding a tiny spot

on the grass to put our towels on. The whole pool is packed, barely any room to even swim. As

soon as the sun screen is applied, Zoe runs and jumps into the pool. The only way she likes to

swim is with her entire head underwater. I can see the concern on some parent’s faces. But I

know how good my baby can swim. 30 minutes into our swim when Zoe spotted the diving

boards. “Mom!! Look over there, I want to try the diving boards” Zoe said to me. She

immediately gets out of the pool and books it to the diving boards. I hurry and jump out of the

pool, and grab Iris. I’m running while holding Iris on my hip. I have a feeling we look ridiculous.
We catch up to Zoe, I'm completely out of breath. There’s no one in line, thankfully. Zoe slowly

walks up to the diving board stairs. She looks a little nervous, but I know my baby will jump. The

lifeguard flashes the yellow flag. “Zoe honey, it’s your turn! Jump baby!” I said to her. She looks

up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, and smiles. She walks to the edge of the diving boards,

and jumps. I’m a nervous wreck, even though I know she can do it, she’s never jumped in that

deep of a pool, or that high off the ground. My heart is racing, beating so fast it doesn’t feel real.

I’m watching her like a hawk, sitting at the edge of my seat until I see her start to move. You

can see her little feet kicking in the water, she reaches the top and takes a deep breath before

putting her head back under the water to swim to the edge. “Wow, I'm so impressed she was

able to do that” the lifeguard said to me. My heart burst, I am so proud of my little 4-year-old.

She ended up going off the diving board at least 10 more times, showing more confidence each

time. Right as we’re about to leave, Zoe came up to me and asked if she could try the high dive

once. I told her that it might be a little too high, and she told me “mama, i’m not afraid, I can do

it”. She marched right up those stairs, and got in line. When it was finally her turn, you could see

just how little she really is. Waiting patiently for the lifeguard to flash the blue flag. When she

finally saw it, she got right to the edge of the diving board and jumped right off. All of the parents

and kids around me look amazed. Even a young boy came up to me and said he’s never seen

anyone so little jump off the high dive. I’m much more nervous this time because I know the

impact she’ll feel when she hits the water. Everything around me is moving slow, the only thing

catching my eye is Zoe. She’s like a little fish, I tell ya. Again, she’s kicking her little feet to reach

the top. She seemed to be swimming a little slower than normal, you can see how exhausting

this has been for her. When she gets out of the water, she tells me right away “ I told you I could

do it”. Walking back to the spot where our towels are, and Zoe can’t stop talking about how

much fun she had on the diving boards. We ended up just drying off, and walking back to the
car. The car feels like it’s even further away than I remembered. With two tired babies in hand,

we finally make it to the car. Not even 2 minutes into our drive back home, and I look back and

both my babies are asleep. You know it’s been a fun day when both your kids fall asleep in the

car. Pure exhaustion, but the best day of summer so far.