Marco! Polo! Mom!

The pool at night seems to be an endless source of amusement. I prefer going in the mornings when I have the place to myself, but since I woke up in a tent this morning, miles and miles from my pool, I went tonight.

When I arrived, there were two soon-to-be-sixth graders who happen to live in the same building, Collin and Kiara. There were two fifteen year old cheerleader girls who were flaunting everything they had in their bikinis (and they had stuff!). Shortly thereafter, three people showed up, all in their early twenties: a married couple and their male friend, James. The two guys in their twenties quickly reverted to their childhood. One would say, "Do a belly flop!" The other would say, "I can jump out farther than you!" The wife stayed in the corner saying she couldn't do much because of her pregnancy. Now mind you, I have never seen or met any of these people ever before in my entire life.

So, the jumping and the splashing escalated as it is wont to do. Pretty soon, James, the twenty-three year old single guy calls to me, "Mom! Will you judge our belly flops to see who wins?" I respectfully declined, thinking he had called me Ma'am, not Mom. While those grown men were having their little contests, the wife remarked that "they never grow up." I mentioned that I teach fifth grade and it was all seeming a mite familiar. She laughed. I asked her how old they were, so that's how I know their ages.

Wifey Dear invited her husband to the hot tub leaving James in the pool with the rest of us. He cheerfully piped up, "Anyone want to play Marco Polo?" All accepted the invitation except for myself. I continued my little exercises in the deep end. Now, when there are "big kids" in the pool playing with little kids, I can't help but watch closely and monitor. I wonder why the adults try so hard to interact with the youngers. I was suspicious of James. After Round I of Marco Polo, James called to me, "Mom! Are you playing this time?" Again, I bowed out, smiling that he had chosen to address me as such and deciding that yes, that's what he had called me to begin with. That's okay, I thought, if he thinks I'm someone's mother here, then he'll keep himself in check. None of the kids said anything. Maybe they thought he really was my son. After a couple more rounds of Marco Polo, he tried to include me once again, "Mom's playing now. Get her!" No, Mom was not playing.

At one point, Kiara, the sixth grader, grabbed onto me from behind, using me as a shield to protect her from James who was yelling "Marco!" I smiled and said, "You can't use me as a shield. I'm not playing." Collin yelled, "Lightning!" And we all got out of the pool. K asked, "And you wonder why I don't like going to the pool with you at night?"