Summer...

For the last four years we've been fortunate to belong to a local pool club and we have spent many summer days and nights there. Our first year there, we actually won third place in attendance, something which gave us great pride, and embarrassment.  

The day we most looked forward to each summer, was their annual July 4th celebration. The gates opened at 11 and the DJ would get the party started immediately. We would always arrive early to ensure we would get our regular spot as well as set up extra chairs for our friends so that we could all sit together. We would do a potluck style for both lunch and dinner, and we would spend the entire day with our friends laughing and enjoying each others' company. The kids were always off doing their own thing. There were swim competitions, parent cannonball and hula-hoop contests. The games would continue throughout the entire day. There was also the annual parade of kids, all carrying flags in hand, walking around the entire property while patriotic music played overhead. By night's end, once the sun would go down and the crowds would clear out, the place became so peaceful.  This was always the best part of the day at the pool club.

After the celebrations ended last year, I grabbed my camera to capture some shots of my daughter Abby jumping off the diving board. With every jump, she would alternate her landing method, and she repeatedly popped her little head above the water to ask "Did you get it?" It was as if she was trying to confirm that I captured the perfect image of her dismount. No matter how many times I told her that I had enough shots, she insisted on doing it again. I remember sitting back in that moment thinking about parenting both her and her sister, and how no matter how much you do and no matter how hard you try, you don't feel you do a good enough job. I realize I can only speak for myself, but that's how I feel anyway. I paused for a moment, realizing that there wouldn't be too many more times like this, where she would want me to watch her jump off the diving board. For that brief moment, it was as if the world stopped, and I felt completely present. I felt, and continue to feel blessed, that I was so aware of it in the moment. While it didn't last more than a minute or two, I've probably not felt that present since that night. Although it's something I certainly strive for, I often get so easily distracted in day to day minutia of life.

As our girls got older older, their interest in going the pool club waned. They would have their own plans, or sometimes they just didn't want to go anymore. This will be our first year without our membership, and while there is a part of me that feels slightly anxious not to have it, the other part of me is looking forward to the new adventures and traditions that will come as a result of us not having it to fall back on. I can't recall if Abby came back to the pool club with us after that night, but she never did ask me to watch her jump off the diving board again. As she continues to grow, she may not remember that night or the specific details. But I feel so privileged to have captured this shot and to be able to hold onto this moment. It's something I don't think I will ever forget.