Day 3- Andrea the Lifeguard

Andrea was a lifeguard at my neighborhood pool. Later, she became one of my swim coaches. She was beautiful, confident, funny, and unbelievably nice. She was everything I wanted to be. I swam ten times faster and longer when she was the one telling me to do it. She only lived one cul-de-sac away and I felt it gave me some sort of insight into her being. I spent the majority of my summers at the pool. In the mornings I trained, in the afternoons I goofed around with Christie, and some evenings there were neighborhood ice cream socials. All the while, I was trying to be friends with the lifeguards and they were incredibly nice about it.

When I moved to Texas after middle school, the last person I said goodbye to was Andrea. The day our moving van was packed and ready to go, I walked up to the pool crying. I couldn't bare to tell the swim coaches and lifeguards I was leaving. I loved and respected them more than they could reciprocate or probably guess. I knew the importance of the relationship was disproportionately significant on my side, but I couldn't help it. I pulled myself together once I got inside the fence. Andrea was standing at the shallow end telling the youngest swim team members to "pull! pull!" When I told her I was moving and that it was today, she looked surprised and hugged me. I can't remember exactly what she said, but I know it was perfect and I felt comforted and loved.

I still want to be like Andrea.