Updated July 2020: Will and I were at our neighborhood pool this weekend, and ironically, I was wearing this same Boden swimsuit that I bought in the summer of 2011 and showcased in this post so many years ago. The suit has faded a little, but it still fits. I have also bought two other Boden swimsuits over the years, too, and still, swear by this brand. 

As we were sitting there in our lounge chairs with a pool bag filled with nothing, but Countersun Tinted Mineral Sunscreen Mist, I noticed several families in the pool who had children about the age of my kids when I first wrote this post. My kids were under the age of six at the time. 

I looked at Will as we sat there with no children with us, and said, "I don't miss the days of bringing young children to the pool with swim diapers and all of the stuff." He laughed and stated, "It was so much work. By the time we got to a pool, applied sunscreen, and put on their floaties, it was then time to go home because it was their nap time." 

We no longer keep up with the gear, swim diapers, or any pool accessories that parents need to take to the pool these days. We just have to keep up with where our kids are now when we're relaxing at the pool. Lucky for you, websites like Globo Surf, do all the research for you on the best swim diapers to use on your brief trip to the pool.  Enjoy this trip down my parenting lane from 2011. Parents, I promise you that you'll be where Will and I at the pool sooner than you think. I must also be frank with you. I don't miss those pool days at all. I was wrong on my prediction that I would miss them. But I love going to the pool now.  And this child, nine years later, even carries her own swim towel, but I'm still left toting the pool bag. 



Summer 2011

I remember the days when I loved going to the pool.  I would pack up a cute little tote with a book, magazines, and a bottle of water, and I would sit in a lounge chair with not a care in the world for about an hour.   Do you remember doing that in your younger days?  Heck, I was doing it when I was 36.  Fast forward six years and the pool season is no longer what I remember and could perhaps be my most dreaded time of the year.  As a mom, you know what I'm talking about here.  Taking young kids to a pool is incredibly hard work. It's the most laborious work I've ever done for only an hour of entertainment.


Gone are the days of sitting in a lounge chair with a good read.  Yes, I was one of those people.  Every season, I would have a cute bathing suit, hair, and makeup always completed, and my swimsuit rarely got wet.  These days, I'm lucky if I'm even able to sit down at all, my swimsuit could be on backward for all I know, and it's highly likely I'm hiding my no-makeup face behind a big pair of sunglasses.  My hair usually looks as if I have already gone for a swim.

Large pool bag filled with snacks, towels, and toys

As for that little pool tote, it has now been replaced with a big pool bag filled with sunscreen, snacks, sippy cups, extra diapers, pool toys, wipes, clothes for two kids, Zip-Loc bags for wet swimsuits, grocery bags for dirty diapers, and, of course, towels.

It also never fails that I always leave something important at home.  The bag is so full and heavy that I lean to one side as I peer through the crowd to find a seat for us and all of our pool loot. It's only 10:30 a.m., and it looks as if the early birds got the best places fo sit. The pool doesn't open until 10:00 a.m.  Those early birds need to teach me how to pack a pool bag quickly.

We find our lounge chair, apply our sunscreen, and are ready to hit the pool fountains at zero water entry, which is perfect for a toddler.  Let the kid fun begin! 

What's that sound? It's a whistle.  Oops!  You guessed it. It's kiddie break time for ten minutes where people who are like the "old me" can frolic in the water splash-free.


Mini Boden Swimsuit

I dig in my bag for snacks. It's never on top, so I sift through goggles and sunscreen to find the goldfish.  Even though we just got there, this is my chance to sit for ten minutes because the rest of the time, this middle-aged mama will be standing in water with her rear end for all to see instead of lounging in a chair where my backside would be nicely hidden.  At least this year, I'm attempting to stand there in a cute Boden swimsuit. If only I looked as attractive as the model in the catalog, though.




The scorching, southern heat kicks in as it is approaching lunch and my daughter's naptime.  Pool fun must end.  And yes, it's just as much work to pack up that bag and change everyone into dry clothes as it is to get us ready to go.  One day, I know I will be able to park my backside in a lounge chair again while my tweens tote their own pool bags to the pool. I'll see all the younger mamas with their behinds in the pool with their little ones, and I bet I'll say, "I do miss those days!"

pre-schooler with googles

See you at the pool! 
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