Paradise Lost: peeing in the pool
The other day, by the entrance gate, I overheard a fellow dad lecturing his brood not to pee in the pool, and I studied the faces of the children carefully so as to avoid them in the water. Despite their dad’s best efforts, they were most certainly going to urinate in the pool the first chance they got. Think of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The serpent was ultimately unnecessary. Those two kids would have eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because it was forbidden.
My children are between diapers and dating, so I’m not yet concerned about the other biblical definition of “knowing,” but pee is often on my mind. East of Eden, we humans have developed indoor plumbing. Instead of reciting a list of Thou Shalt Nots, I always escort my kids to the public bathroom. They are not given an option. Once inside, I promptly demonstrate the proper use of the facilities. Behavior is modeled so that it can be emulated.
Our pool has a required 10-minute break at the top of every hour. Perhaps your kids, like mine, will protest that they do not need to go, but this is another opportunity to shepherd them and their tiny bladders to the restroom. Assure them that there is plenty of time to return to the side of the pool in order to be ready for the lifeguard’s whistle that signals their baptism by immersion, preferably by cannonball.
I am not naïve. There are sudden and suspicious warm spots in the water. We are children of The Fall; there are no rules or precautions that ensure 100% compliance.
However, take heart and be of good cheer. Chlorine is proof that God loves us and wants us to swim.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of Little Big Moments, a collection of mini-essays about parenting, and Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems. Both titles are available most anywhere books are sold online. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill where he serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.
