Private Pool Swimming

As we started changing classes with new girls in general classes, my friendships expanded in junior high. I do think one girl moved to this area about this time as I think about it. Donna Fox lived on the Bedford Road side of town. She had an above ground pool. Often I went there to swim. We swam into the night often. I loved night swimming as well.
Another friend Dawna lived on the other side of town. She, too, had a above ground pool. I didn't go there as often. I remember her mother commenting on her hair. I don't think she had washed it for quite a few days because she was always swimming. Chlorine makes a good cleanser, right?
Mid July found us swimming so much. Night swimming exciting and alluring. I loved being with friends. We'd make whirlpools in the smaller private pools. Played Marco Polo. Lived in our swimming suits, usually bikinis.
I taught a class at my church this evening. The girls are younger than junior high, fifth and sixth grade. They ran in, jabbering about a boy, who will decide on Sunday which one of the girls he likes. Their shiny, clean hair and glowing faces give away they had been swimming most of the day. That is the way we looked. My hair soft from so much water and using conditioner. We didn't have flat phones that texted, took pictures and videos. Yet, they still seem so much the same as us, on their summer vacation, excited about camp next week.
Summer time, hanging with friends, feeling free for a short time. These extra hot days make me miss the night swimming, staying up watching horror movies, sneaking phone calls after the parents retired to their rooms. With caller ID, I doubt kids even know about those prank calls. Doors left open all night to let in the cool night air, if it cooled. Cricket sounds, occasional car sounds or someone out walking late at night filled the stillness of quiet times.