Summer buzz haircut? Check. New brown lens polarized sunglasses from Shady Rays? Check. Large tube of Banana Boat 30 SPF sunscreen? Check. Two pairs of swim shorts 1 navy blue, 1 gray? Check. Annual Elmhurst Park District pool pass updated? Check. In other words, swim season at East End Pool is totally on and we’re back in the water!
Last year, thanks to the Pandemic, the pool’s season didn’t kick off until mid-June but this year East End opened on time for the Memorial Day weekend. Elmhurst’s other swim facility, Smalley Pool opened a couple weeks later than expected due to a lifeguard shortage that has since been mitigated. I just saw how that lifeguard shortage is delaying the opening of Chicago Park District pools until probably early July! This in spite of offering lifeguards 600 dollar signing bonuses. Yikes!
But forget all that. I’ve been back in the water for the last couple of weekends and it feels great. I really missed my time at East End and appreciate every single minute I can spend there. It’s also been fun catching up with some of what I call my “Summer Family”, pals who are daily regulars at the pool like me. There are just a few folks I haven’t run into in the water yet because I still have one more week of summer school to go.
After June 24th, I’m all in the pool as many days as the place is open; doing my laps (starting with 20 and adding 1 more lap each day) and talking to my pool pals about sports, movies, music and our daily goings on. Sadly, we did learn of the passing of ‘Don’, an East End regular who succumbed to a brain aneurism this past winter. Don, in his tattered red baseball cap was always up for some baseball talk and loved spending time away from the pool with his grandkids. Rest in peace Don, you’re already missed by us daily swimmers.
There’s also been some schedule changes at East End, including the elimination of the one hour adult swim before younger swimmers can hit the pool. They switched that out with an opening hour of time in the water just for those with seasonal passes. This new deal isn’t going over too well with some folks and I understand their frustrations. Maybe if we make enough noise to the Elmhurst Park District things can change for next year.
But right now, changes be damned, it’s water time. Once my summer break starts, I just want to focus on the sun, splash and laughs had with that summer family. So, here’s to warm weather, blue skies and all the fun hanging at my hometown pool brings.
Next Week’s Blog: Summer Break is Finally Here!