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Summer is all about swimming, for the Clarks.  Cosmo loves to splash and paddle, Felix wears his floatie jacket pretty much upon waking up in the morning.  Treva is still cautious, but enthusiastic in the water.  Horus is a fearless fish.  I’ve give up on public pools, or even the shallow city park pools.  We went to Wilmot park in downtown Fredericton the other day, and within minutes of arriving, the (apparently) twelve-year old lifeguard came up to me and told me that I was giving Felix too wide a berth, and that I needed to monitor him more closely.  No doubt the twelve-year old lifeguard is better equipped to ensure my children’s safety than I am–and likely more invested in whether my children live or die that I ever will be–she sure thought so, anyway.  Heaven forbid that a mother might have an idea of her children’s abilities and boundaries, and act accordingly.  So we stick to the river, where they can roam, and explore, and where the chances of perfect strangers policing my parenting are slim–or we head to the swimming pool at the resort down the road, where we can swim similarly unimpeded by teenagers drunk with power and authority.  Happy summer everyone!

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