Eating My Words

Well. I've done what I swore I would never do: join a pool. We're all such fair-skinned types in this house, and I don't want our lives to become obsessed with "having to be at the pool all day every day to get our money's worth." But here's the reasoning behind my decision:

• after a week's worth of swim lessons last week, Matthew and especially Michael aren't really any further along. Basically Matthew just needs practice to build up his endurance and confidence and Michael needs to c.h.i.l.l. and quit sucking onto his mother and screaming in the water. On a more frequent basis.
• the public-ish pool we usually go to in the summer is the same distance away (15 minutes) and is super crowded after lunchtime and is a hard place to monitor both children when you end up not even being able to find your children in the sea of little half-naked bodies. And forget about truly practicing swimming skills.
• this pool membership ends up being cheaper by about $125 than any of the other pool's around that I have looked into. It is actually $225 cheaper than the membership fee of the pool that is just outside of our neighborhood.
• Mama has some thighs and belly that could use some work.
• They have a less competitive, less obsessive swim team that we could join next summer.
• My sister-in-law made the decision to join this pool, too (hi Shannon!), so we can frequently spend some fun time with family.
• I have two cute swimsuits to show off.

Clearly, I like to be able to find a rationale for all large budgeting decisions of my own making. We will end up paying more to use a pool this summer than we usually do. That's just a given. But if it means that our boys will be safer around bodies of water, than it's worth every penny. And if Mama can rock her bikini by the end of the summer, well, that's just a bonus. KIDDING!