"That one's mine!"

You know who isn't given enough credit?  The waterpark lifeguards at amusement parks!

We were at the local amusement park yesterday (along with the rest of the state apparently).  My 3 year old, Joshua, went up the ramp to the kiddie water slides with his big brother.  I was watching at the bottom as the lifeguards patiently told the wee ones to sit down on their bottoms... over and over... again.  There were tiny tots who just wanted to surf down, or fly down, or even roll down the slides.  This is the age that creativity shines.  Right?  Of course, there were children who were unsure about the whole thing altogether and couldn't bring themselves to get on the slide.  The lifeguards were patient through it all! 

A friend from high school spotted me and came over to chat.  It was so nice to reconnect after all these years!  We were catching up, and Joshua made his way down the slide.  She pointed out her kids and her mom across the sea of pool loungers.  I waved.  As I was pointing out my kids, Joshua hit the pool at the bottom of the slide.  I cheered and clapped and called him over to me.  Between the kids screaming everywhere and the water splashing, my shouts were drowned out.  Josh turned right around and jumped up on the restricted area between the 2 water slides to run back up and do that again.  No doubt, the lifeguard whistle was blaring.  So there goes his mom (well, you know, it was me) trucking into and through the pool, trying not to run into other little ones, to chase down her... my... runaway child.  This was not some slow motion Baywatch moment.  It was a clumsy, sloshy few second charge past the whistling lifeguard to my child.  "Oh, that one right there- the little boy jumping up onto the restricted area- that one's mine!" Haha, I always say kids have a way of keeping a parent humble!    

God bless those patient lifeguards repeating their gentle instructions and helping toddlers up from the water all day long.  Another time, we'll talk about the announcer running the bumper cars.  Poor Guy announced all day long that "If you get stuck, keep turning the wheel until you start to move forward... If you get stuck..."  His microphone was no better than this mama's voice at the pool.  Nobody (that needed them anyway) could hear those instructions either!  But this particular time, it wasn't one of mine. ;)

*It did bring to mind the Parable of the Lost Lamb.  Though Josh wasn't in danger (yet), he had gone out of the bounds meant for his good.  I left the others to chase after him... because that boy's mine!

"Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.  Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine.  I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, you give yourself away.  Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God..." -Cory Asbury