Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Even in Southern California

My daughter decided to try out for water polo this year. I admire her willingness to try it, because even in Southern California, I think of swimming as a summer activity. Maybe that’s because we don’t have indoor pools in this area, and it takes some determination to get into a swimming pool in the middle of November. Sure, we still get the occasional Santa Ana to spike afternoon temperatures, but water polo practice will not take place on a sunny afternoon. It may be sunny California in the daytime, but you can still see your breath at night. By mid-winter we even get frosty mornings.

To my dismay, we had very little notice to get our hands on a suitable swimsuit for practices. Even in Southern California, swimsuits are a seasonal item. We ran around to half a dozen discount stores in hopes of finding one left on a clearance rack before giving in and realizing we’d have to face the Big Sporting Goods Store at the mall. Naturally, the Big Sporting Goods Store keeps a rack of big name brands with big sticker prices all year long.

Price tags aside, there is something to be said for a limited selection. The search for a one-piece was nothing like the battle that took place at the beginning of the summer, when I took my thirteen year old bikini shopping. She must’ve tried on about seven hundred or so. We fought bitterly over strings and cutouts and animal prints and weird sparkly embellishments. In what I believe was store number fifty-nine or so we finally found the one suit that we could agree on. One that didn’t make me think over my dead body or make her think only someone who still likes Strawberry Shortcake would want to wear this.

As we drove from store to store, the air in the car was downright chilly. It wasn’t because we were cranking the AC in the summer heat. Even in Southern California, a teenage girl sure knows how to master the cold shoulder.

12 comments:

Rena Jones said...

Poor Adrienne. Hopefully, the shopping experience will soon be a distant memory for her as she begins practices. Finding a good swimsuit is hard for a lot of people and I think it's especially hardest on moms. Good luck with your daughter. My husband played water polo in high school and had a great time with it (in SoCA too).

Bish Denham said...

There are two places on the web where you can get swimsuits year round and reasonable prices. Check out swimsuitsforall.com and SwimOutlet.com

PJ Hoover said...

Oy! I hope my daughter will opt for the boy shorts.

sruble said...

Swim suit shopping sounds horrible - hugs! To both of you. I remember being the one to try them on and my mom having to wait for me.

Since I come from a time when one piece suits were still worn in the summer, the only issue was did it look good and fit, or did it look horrible. I wore a bikini when I was about 5 though. Never again ;)

Hope your daughter loves water polo! (How old is she? we never had the water polo option, but we played a little when I was on the swim team; it's a hard sport. I can't imagine playing before HS, but maybe if you start early ...)

Freezing cold pools are awful when you first get in, but if you are working hard, like swimming laps or playing water polo, your body does adjust to it. Just don't get out and then think it's going to be ok when you get back in!

Brenda said...

I remember the first time I bought a bikini...it was baby blue and made my tan look even darker...I only wore it once...my dad saw it and that was the end of the baby blue bikini...grin...

Things like this is what makes me glad I have a boy...grin...

C.R. Evers said...

I love the way you describe things! :0) Makes me giggle.

Christy

Adrienne said...

Rena - Thanks, I hope she has fun with it. The swimsuit might be the tip of the iceberg, though - I'm sure there are uniforms and all sorts of other gear to come...but I'm glad she wants to try something new.

Bish - Thanks for the tip! I hope we have more of a heads up next time...ordering ahead would have been great.

PJ - Ha! That was my hope, too - but no luck!

Sruble - We survived shopping, now for the practices...She's in her first year of high school - a good time to start as a novice. I remember the kids taking swimming lessons in June - before it gets hot here - they were fine when they were in the water, but freezing when they got out!

Brenda - LOL, that sounds about right - if my husband had his way, hers would have disappeared the same as your baby blue one. That's dads and their little girls for you ;)

Christy - So funny you should say that - my daughter uses that phrase, "It makes me giggle" for anything and everything! She can be snarky, but she makes me giggle :)

Kimbra Kasch said...

My oldest loves water polo. The rest of us love water sports like wakeboarding, waterskiing and tubing but there is NO way we could get in the water outside in the winter. It's hard enough to jump into the 50 degree stuff in the summer.

I hope she has a winning season :)

Keri Mikulski said...

Yikes.. :)

Love the last line.

Anonymous said...

I really hope you bought yourself a drink after all that. Brava to the girl for trying something new, though.

Kelly Polark said...

Great post! I could picture it all! At least that shopping trip is behind you!

LW said...

I hope she makes the team....

Louise