Lifeguarding

Over the past few months, Alex has taken the plunge to become “somewhat more professional” by taking a job as an aquatics safety supervisor—aka a lifeguard. 

I haven’t applied for many part time jobs before but it took over 6 months for me to land a job as a lifeguard.  It was a pretty intense interview process.  Actually I wasn’t interviewed at all but I showed up and that was apparently enough to get the position.  Between trying to fit in training, waiting on paperwork, and being out of town for a few months it turned into an extended process.  I finally got to start in the middle of March—the week of mid-terms which maybe wasn’t the brightest idea. 

My job is a far cry from being a lifeguard on Baywatch.  I spend a good deal of my time scrubbing the scum line on the side of the pool on my hands and knees sporting my yellow guard shirt and a fanny pack.  I have also developed mad skills for cleaning windows, disinfection railings, and numerous other cleaning jobs—the Red Cross fails to mention all of the cleaning tasks in the job description of a lifeguard in the training manual. 

After a few weeks on the job I worked a Family Fun Night which is usually mass chaos since families can swim for a few hours for free.  In the midst of the chaos I had several opportunities to whistle at people not following the rules.  I got the feeling that everyone was ignoring my whistling.  The next day a fellow lifeguard and I were having a slow day so she had me practice blowing my whistle (yes, this was part of the on the job training that was overlooked on my first day).  She was slightly appalled not only by my technique but the performance of my whistle—it wasn’t loud enough.  This then lead into a conversation about the inferiority of metal whistles (which I was using) compared to plastic whistles.  I also learned that the Fox 40 model is top of the line (I was unaware there were brands or models of whistles) and it is the highest decibel range allowed by whistles.  She had ordered hers online since there was a better selection of colors.  The standard issue whistle at the pool is the Fox 40 Mini—a step below the Fox 40 original but still worlds better than my metal whistle.  There was one left in stock in the standard black which I am now the proud owner of.  I was also instructed in the appropriate tongue placement for the most forceful blast to get the attention of rowdy children.  There was discussion the other day at work about assigning whistle colors to correspond with years of service as a lifeguard—kind of like a black belt system in martial arts.

I often work in the afternoons as the lifeguard during swimming lessons.  This has also been very educational to learn about parenting.  It seems like 90% of the parents at swimming lessons are helicopter parents.  One parent expressed concerns because she felt the instructor wasn’t supporting her daughter’s back enough while they were practicing the back float.  The aquatics director calmly tried to explain that to pass this level the child needs to be able to float independently—generally this means that they float without any support from the instructor and since it there were only a few classes left the instructor was decreasing the support.  This parent was still pretty concerned about the situation but I think the girl was finally able to float by herself.  I have also had several moms come up to me to let me know that they need to step into the locker room to use the restroom and if I could watch their kids swimming and make sure they are safe.  The sarcastic side of me always wants to reply the sure I would be happy to watch their kids while they step out even though as a lifeguard I usually watch all the swimmers all the time to ensure their safety and I will probably continue to do that if they are sitting at the edge of the pool or if they leave for a moment. 

Another exciting part of my job has been working with some of the other guards who are high school students.  Sometimes I feel really old.  One guard who is 16 was mentioning the other day how sometimes it is hard to grow up and she wishes she could just be 12 again.  She is going to be a junior next year and has to worry about where to go to college, what she wants to study, getting her driver’s license, etc.  I realized that age 12 was half my lifetime ago and sometimes I just wish I was 16.  I then found myself say, “Back when I was a kid we got our permits at 14 and licenses at age 16.”  Anytime you start a sentence with the phrase “back when I was a kid” you are getting old.

Now that summer is starting I will probably start working at the outdoor pool some which means I might actually get to benefit from one of the best reasons to be a lifeguard—a great tan.