Day 104

Being a stay at home mom overseas is tough during the summer (insert laughter from anyone who's talked to me the last 2 summers here in Germany). In order to stay cool on those hot summer days, I have no choice to but to head to the local German pool, Azur.

People, this is not your ordinary pool at least by American standards of an outdoor pool. There is a total of 4 outdoor pools, 2 water slides (one inside, one outside), diving boards, a playground outside, three indoor pools, a hot tub AND a sauna. They even have a solarium where you can absorb the warmth of the sun on those to-cold-to-lay-outside days (including the winter!). The best part is they have amazing baby and toddler pools. And when I say amazing, I mean waterfalls, slides, and a covered outdoor pool. Its like having my own little water park 15 minutes away for far cheaper then anything in the states. Only one of the outdoor pools is heated, but that is a normal occurrence in Europe. The sun does all the work. They even serve alcohol at the pool!!!! Can you imagine the uproar that would cause at a public stateside pool snack bar? So needless to say, you know where to find me almost any hot day during the summer.

The best part is that I have a great group of girlfriends who join me every time I go. We stake out a little corner by the kids pool and make it our own little home. The kids run around, we bring lunch for picnics, and just hang out enjoying the sun and water. One husband has even called us "pool bums" we've been there so much in the last week.


Do I feel guilty that I'm at the pool when I should be doing other things like clean the house? Heck no! But I do feel bad that I can't bring Kelly. Poor girl has to suffer in the heat of the house by herself. She loved the Mediterranean Sea when we lived in Turkey. Jon and I would take her out there after dinner and let her play in the surf. She never went far because English Bulldogs can't technically swim (their weight drags them down) but she loved cooling off in the water. But other then Kelly, I don't really feel guilty. I'm enjoying this time with my little girl and our friends.

This last week has been H-O-T by German standards. Its been over 80 every day without a cloud in the sky and there is currently no sign of it breaking. For most people 80 degree days don't sound so bad, but those people likely have air conditioning. Since its not normally this hot for this long here, air conditioning is a luxury. I have yet to hear of central AC in any of the houses, but some people have portable or window air conditioners. So when the heat starts and doesn't break (even at night) everyone gets out of the house, including myself and my girlfriends.

Lucy loves the pool. There is not better place to her then being in the water. She learned how to swim last summer with her water wings and couldn't wait to try it again outside this summer. In the last 2 days she's become quite the little dare devil. She's swimming further out and trying to jump in the pool. She's even started dunking her head a bit, but she's not quite ready for that. I'm always amazed at how much she swims and for how long. I love seeing her smiling face and hearing her giggles as she splashes around. Plus, it wears her out so she sleeps for hours during nap time.

Today I realized how much I wish Jon was here to see Lucy swimming. Its hard to videotape when you are the one she's swimming with so it makes it difficult to share with him. I know he would be teasing me every morning this last week about how rough my life is spending the day at the pool. It was a regular conversation last August when we had our last heat wave of summer. But really, who doesn't want to be a kid again, heading to the pool every day during the summer break?