Goggles

Yesterday I was enjoying the pool at our health club and there was a grandma there with her grandson. Their interactions were really sweet as she was teaching him how to swim. When it was time to go, the grandma said something about doing one more lap. With much gusto and seriousness, the boy said, "Alright! Let me get my goggles!" It made me smile to myself because as a kid, goggles are the light sabers of the summer. You need them to fight the force . . . the force of clear vision through underwater adventures.

Every summer my sister and I went through a pair of goggles each and we were pretty big water bugs, spending almost the whole day in the pool. Those of you who were as hard core as we were would probably remember those summer evenings when you would throw your goggles up on the deck and forget about them until the next afternoon . . . but by then the heat of the sun melted the rubber head strap to the wooden planks of the deck and you had to carefully peel it off. I will admit, some of my goggles never made it through the "peel back." Those suckers would just snap in two. Of course the next step is to tie the rubber pieces together which then made the goggles so tight on your face that your eyes would bug out, and when the whole strap finally disintegrated -- I was at the mercy of Laura. Hoping I could sneak a swim with her goggles and relive the glorious view of the bottom of our pool without any visual hindrance.

Ever forget your goggles when you went on vacation? Worst nightmare right there. There are only two outcomes: 1. you whine about it long enough and your parents realize that in order for them to enjoy their vacation, they need to find another pair - and stat, or 2. you whine about it long enough and get a time out in a lawn chair while your sister gets to swim gracefully around the pool, enjoying her goggles which she happened to remember to pack. Trust me, the second outcome sucks.

How about those goggles that are really made for snorkeling, but they were so cheap that the tube didn't come with it, or you lost/broke it? I love how no matter how lose the strap is or how you adjust the mask on your face, your upper lip is still going to curl up in a way that would make the Grinch jealous. I personally never liked those masks because when I swim under water, I blow the air out my nose and blew many-a-mask right off my face. (I have powerful sinus cavities.) However, if it was a choice between mask or no goggles at all, any kid in their right mind would go mask! Duh! How else are you going to see those quarters or washers that your dad throws at the bottom of the pool for you to hunt?!

Weren't those diving games fun? I remember my mom and dad throwing stuff at the bottom for Laura and me to collect. We pretended like we were pirates looking for buried treasure. (By the way, I can hear you laughing at us and I am not ashamed one bit. I know you're jealous of the pirate game.) Then there were a few summers when they bought those real divers for us. The fish or sea horses or tubes that have weights in them. Those were awesome. The pirate game was way better with those.

Anywho, this is an old-school shout out to goggles. As an added bonus, I have added some pictures of Laura and I, circa early 1990's, enjoying our goggles during the swims of summers past. (Laura, by the way, I apologize in advance for not getting your permission to post these pictures. You can sue me. But then I will have to body-slam you at Thanksgiving.)