I also got a t-shirt, a tank top, AND a sweatshirt. Free t-shirts usually seal the deal for me (if you had seen me at JavaOne, you would understand), but I got SO much more.
Work-wise, I was uncertain and shy. And confused. If someone had had an underwater spinal, I think I would have had a heart attack and just added to the list of problems. But luckily, the patrons were unable to see that. A lifeguard has POWER. Some little kid wasn't minding his mother and getting out of the pool like she was telling him to. She spent five minutes trying to convince him while I looked on from far away in amusement. Finally, because it was in keeping with pool rules that nonswimmer kids can't be in the water without parents, I took one step over and looked him in the eyes. He got out.
Yessss.
I think I also started to appreciate the process of growing up a bit more. I've spent a few days cleaning up my room and throwing out a bunch of old papers, and the phantoms of reminiscence have been hovering over me for a while. Today just served to emphasize, in Mr. Dunbar's words, where I have been and where I am going. I was guarding a parent-child swimming lesson where the kids were TINY and the parents were holding them up and teaching them how to put their faces in the water. Other proud parents were standing on the pool deck and camcording and taking photos and encouraging them. It was kinda sweet.
Still, my sense of humor tends to drown out my sentimental side. I was amused at how the little kids were flailing around in the water, half-drowning. And I wondered--did I ever look like that?
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