I got to the pool an hour and fifteen minutes before my shift started, and the building attendant-janitor-person and I were the only ones there. It was quiet, so quiet you could almost see the silence hanging in the air like one of the gray clouds, or settling in around the corners of our cement building like a tired, abandoned breeze.
I sat out on deck with my book (Maeve Binchy's Scarlet Feather.) and read, hard ground digging into me and chain-link fence at my back, alternating pages and chapters with interested glances at the pool vacuum as it spat gallons of water out onto the deck. And broke, frequently. (poor Kyle.)
After that, it was kind of a weird day. It rained, but then the sun came out and it was hot...for half an hour before the thunder started. Only two people came to the pool over the entire day, and that was during the two hour evening swim. Not a single person came to the four-hour afternoon swim, which meant that the two guards who weren't on wading pool got paid to sit in the staff room and read.
And that's kind of been life, lately. I work a lot, and when I'm not working I'm probably reading somewhere. (sometimes I read while I'm at work!! although never when I'm supposed to be guarding. I kind of take my job really seriously. For example, if you have a heart attack while not at the pool...for example, if you're at the library, I will totally take your pulse and be all lifeguardish until the paramedics come.
guys, that actually happened. I should totally tell you about it sometime.)
Also, I wrote a poem back in June that I'd really like to share with you. So maybe I'll do that later this week. For-real lifeguarding stories *and* poetry, look at this! It's going to be fun.
How have your first few weeks of summer been??
xx
Olivia
I sat out on deck with my book (Maeve Binchy's Scarlet Feather.) and read, hard ground digging into me and chain-link fence at my back, alternating pages and chapters with interested glances at the pool vacuum as it spat gallons of water out onto the deck. And broke, frequently. (poor Kyle.)
After that, it was kind of a weird day. It rained, but then the sun came out and it was hot...for half an hour before the thunder started. Only two people came to the pool over the entire day, and that was during the two hour evening swim. Not a single person came to the four-hour afternoon swim, which meant that the two guards who weren't on wading pool got paid to sit in the staff room and read.
And that's kind of been life, lately. I work a lot, and when I'm not working I'm probably reading somewhere. (sometimes I read while I'm at work!! although never when I'm supposed to be guarding. I kind of take my job really seriously. For example, if you have a heart attack while not at the pool...for example, if you're at the library, I will totally take your pulse and be all lifeguardish until the paramedics come.
guys, that actually happened. I should totally tell you about it sometime.)
Also, I wrote a poem back in June that I'd really like to share with you. So maybe I'll do that later this week. For-real lifeguarding stories *and* poetry, look at this! It's going to be fun.
How have your first few weeks of summer been??
xx
Olivia
I need to hear that story about that time at the library! TELL ME.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read the poem you wrote!
My summer has been really nice so far. England was definitely a highlight!
I will absolutely tell everyone!! In my very next post. It's my claim to fame, actually. :P
DeleteAnd well yes ENGLAND, hello. So jealoussssssss. Would be my highlight, too.