A Swimming Pool Resource Guide

by

As the father of an active 6-year-old daughter who sticks to my side like glue—“I’m never going to leave you,” she often quips while hugging my arm—summer is the prime season for freedom and fun in my household.

I have three kids—14- and 9-year-old sons round out the pack, who are invariably and inexplicably ruled by my 6-year-old daughter.

My oldest is like me. He has a love-hate relationship with the pool. Where I’ll go to the pool and get in if the water temperature feels similar to a lukewarm bath, he’ll often skip pool day in favor of playing Xbox One or Steam games on his laptop.

Luckily for me, I’m within walking distance of our neighborhood pool. It’s about 50 yards from my front door to the pool deck. Any given day my kids want to swim, all we need to do is slide into our swimsuits, grab towels, snacks, water and sunscreen, and charge out the front door. And of course, being a father who works from home, I need to pack my laptop and legal pad.

What I’ve enjoyed about our neighborhood pool are the lifeguards. Our property management company hires college students to tend to the pool and my kids have developed great relationships with them each year. Multiple guards work in shifts and hang out at the pool deck; they also enjoy hanging out with my kids since we’re regulars. Last year, a few of the guards taught my 9- and 6-year-old swimming techniques that have made them stronger swimmers. My son’s goal is to be ready for the 2022 neighborhood swim team.

My kids have no sense of time and would swim from open to close if I allowed it. This works well on days when I need to spend a few hours writing or doing other work, but when I have an afternoon conference call, it can cause tension between me and their tear ducts. My daughter is the worst offender and last year, I had to do more countdowns than mission control at Cape Canaveral to get her out of the pool “before daddy has to come in” to her.

As the summer rolled on, my kids made a lot of new friends that they have continued to play with throughout the year. I’ve even made great connections with the moms, dads and grandparents who come to the pool and a couple of the lifeguards. In an ever-changing world, I’m a believer in enjoying any relationship I’m engaged in, whether it’s for a season or a lifetime. After all, regardless of where the wind blows us, we’re neighbors.

If you’re a work-from-home parent looking to get adventurous this summer, my tips on successfully satisfying your employer or clients and your kids all within the same three-hour span are:

  • Overpack. You’ll regret not bringing the extra towel when you look up and see one floating in the shallow end.
  • Check for Wi-Fi. Some pools have open internet. Cox has a hotspot near my pool so I can connect using my home Wi-Fi login, which is a perk of certain Cox packages. I do this at public parks too.
  • Don’t trust your kids. In their excitement to swim, they’ll fib. The goggles aren’t in the bag, they’re on the dresser.
  • Have fun. The pool affords me a lot of time for completing work, but I enjoy taking breaks to play with the kids.

WHERE TO SWIM: *An asterick indicates that a paid membership or fee is required to utilize the facilities. Please go to websites for details.

Northern Neck

Middle Peninsula

Yorktown

Open Water Swimming and Riverfront Beaches: Check websites for fee information.