We have had a very full, very busy, very fun summer. It hasn't stopped and just when I thought it would, it didn't... we are still looking at one more week of busyness ahead. I have learned so much and am still processing much more, but I will keep it light tonight and save the "meaty" stuff for later, when I'm not as tired as I am right now.
All that being said, what is the deal with life guards at water parks? or at whatever water "places" for that matter! Has anybody observed this before?
They sit high so they can see what is going on and they are usually holding, so very intensely, this long foamy-floaty thingy. They sit under the shade of an umbrella, yet they are always sporting tans. But let one unsuspecting individual dare transgress one of the rules and you will see them in action! That whistle goes off! The seriousness of the transgression will determine several things: a standing admonition or a sitting one; one long blow of the whistle or several short ones, several urgent quick hand motions or a slow explanatory one. Now, how do you decipher these messages? Especially in the kiddie pool?
The whistle goes off and every single parent in the pool turns to look at the lifeguard. The lifeguard points intently at the culprit and a handful of parents are looking at each other, pointing at themselves mouthing the word "me?", while the lifeguard keeps on blowing and gesturing in sinc with their hands. The culprit is identified, a young mother of twin toddlers who is (how dare she) just about to go down the slide with both little girls, tsk, tsk, tsk... The lifeguard continues the reprimand, and the guessing game continues as well.
The anguished and quite embarrassed mother looks at the lifeguard and gesturing with hands asks: "What?" and tries to decipher the whistle blowing and hand gesturing of the lifeguard (that hasn't stopped, mind you). "Oh, do I need to sit down?" More hand gestures and whistle blowing... "Oh, do I have to go with one girl at a time?" "What?" says the poor mother in desperation while the lifeguard still keeps on blowing that silly whistle and making some bizarre gesture with her hand that we all are supposed to understand yet nobody seems to be able to figure out. Finally, in one last attempt to make the madness stop, the mother says "Oh, I can't go down with them?" and really without waiting for a response (not that it would have been understood had there been one) she motions to the closest acquaintance to "catch" the now wailing (and probably traumatized) little girls as she scurries away.
As the afternoon wore down and we rotated around the different swimming areas of the park, I continually saw this kind of situation repeat itself over and over again. So what is one sensible parent to do in this case... is there a lifeguard language class that we missed? How does one master the hand gestures or whistle blowing of these characters? Don't get me wrong, I am very appreciative of them there. I am grateful to know that there is a trained professional who can save a life if it comes to it. I just want to be able to know how to correct my wrong behavior or what that wrong behavior may have been to begin with!
All that being said, what is the deal with life guards at water parks? or at whatever water "places" for that matter! Has anybody observed this before?
They sit high so they can see what is going on and they are usually holding, so very intensely, this long foamy-floaty thingy. They sit under the shade of an umbrella, yet they are always sporting tans. But let one unsuspecting individual dare transgress one of the rules and you will see them in action! That whistle goes off! The seriousness of the transgression will determine several things: a standing admonition or a sitting one; one long blow of the whistle or several short ones, several urgent quick hand motions or a slow explanatory one. Now, how do you decipher these messages? Especially in the kiddie pool?
The whistle goes off and every single parent in the pool turns to look at the lifeguard. The lifeguard points intently at the culprit and a handful of parents are looking at each other, pointing at themselves mouthing the word "me?", while the lifeguard keeps on blowing and gesturing in sinc with their hands. The culprit is identified, a young mother of twin toddlers who is (how dare she) just about to go down the slide with both little girls, tsk, tsk, tsk... The lifeguard continues the reprimand, and the guessing game continues as well.
The anguished and quite embarrassed mother looks at the lifeguard and gesturing with hands asks: "What?" and tries to decipher the whistle blowing and hand gesturing of the lifeguard (that hasn't stopped, mind you). "Oh, do I need to sit down?" More hand gestures and whistle blowing... "Oh, do I have to go with one girl at a time?" "What?" says the poor mother in desperation while the lifeguard still keeps on blowing that silly whistle and making some bizarre gesture with her hand that we all are supposed to understand yet nobody seems to be able to figure out. Finally, in one last attempt to make the madness stop, the mother says "Oh, I can't go down with them?" and really without waiting for a response (not that it would have been understood had there been one) she motions to the closest acquaintance to "catch" the now wailing (and probably traumatized) little girls as she scurries away.
As the afternoon wore down and we rotated around the different swimming areas of the park, I continually saw this kind of situation repeat itself over and over again. So what is one sensible parent to do in this case... is there a lifeguard language class that we missed? How does one master the hand gestures or whistle blowing of these characters? Don't get me wrong, I am very appreciative of them there. I am grateful to know that there is a trained professional who can save a life if it comes to it. I just want to be able to know how to correct my wrong behavior or what that wrong behavior may have been to begin with!
1 comment:
hahaha...only in this state--for real! Ken is convinced they are there to keep us from doing anything even remotely FUN! So he does his best to push the very stringent limits set by our ever vigilant lifeguards!
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