Looks like We Made it!

Loving the splash pad

We made the decision this year to buy a membership to a local outdoor pool complex. It was fairly expensive ($380) but we ducked out of other things for this year, like zoo membership. I love this pool complex as it has lots of pools and slides and nice sitting and eating areas, including a cheap little cafe.

For years we've done the free outdoor pool in town but good grief it's rough. Each week we'd encounter something crazy, like grown adults stealing Danny's toys, or homeless people having a wash in the pool. The two most hideous things we encountered was a kid vomiting in the pool last summer (I can NEVER get in again) and once we had to leave and push our way through an angry family that was gathered outside and were being refused access and they were shouting racist and really offensive stuff in front of my kids. We took all this in our stride - how can we not when we are from working class backgrounds,  and we had a policy to come home wet (the restrooms were vile) but I'm glad we are done with that place, for now at least.

So today I took Danny to the pool complex because they opened the splash pad. The main pools open Memorial weekend - next weekend. He loved it as you can see and cried when we left!  What struck me though was that I felt like we've finally made it. Never once in my life have I splashed out on such non-essential luxury. To be a member of this pool complex makes me feel incredibly lucky and almost like a fraud. At any moment I was expecting someone to come up and tell me that there had been a mistake with my membership. It was a wonderful feeling and I hope I didn't just jinx it. Silly isn't it. I'm a 43 year old professional woman but I still feel like the girl who worked at a beetroot packing factory in my summer holidays for pocket money.

There is of course one disadvantage of moving up in the pool complex world. At the old place the fact that I only had two tattoos, all my own teeth and children that I actually played with made me look like Supermummy. At this new place I'll be mingling with the beautiful & distant Abercrombie & Fitch crowd. Please Lord don't let Danny kick anyone in the goolies or poop on the splash pad!