The Wet Shower Policy

I admit this little tale is from yesteryear, but it makes me chuckle:

In the midst of an absolutely unorganized and crazy first day of swim lessons we found out that the YMCA has a policy about ‘wet showers’. We knew there was a shower policy and we had relunctantly abided, even though it could mean that you would shower and then end up waiting for many many minutes for your lesson to start, shivering away. So we’ve learned to wait to hit the showers until the teachers are whistling the kids into the pool. Some friends, new to the ways of Midway Y swim lessons, had been foolish enough to shower right when they arrived at the Y. 1 hour later, when the older daughter’s lesson actually looked like it was going to begin, Elizabeth, the over eager ‘deck manager’, asked Andrew to have his daughter take a shower. Andrew explained that she had, but had dried in the ensuing wait. Elizabeth said, and I quote:
“Oh, but the Y has a ‘wet shower’ policy. And I know why. I asked about this and this is the reason…every time you jump into the pool, you displace some water, so if we have everyone jump in wet, then we don’t lose so much water!!!” Big smile. I think she’s kind of a ‘lifer’ at the midway. And that takes a special kind of person. Andrew took this all in stride and went off to give Jasmine her second shower. Eli looked at me with a glint in his eye, but said nothing. That night after we had read books and he was snuggling down to sleep we were sharing a little laugh over the ‘wet shower’ policy. I loved that at 7 he could see the ludicrousness of the policy that Elizabeth, at perhaps 37, was oblivious too. Really. She was. And then Eli said, “Mom, next Monday we need to bring one of those medicine dropper things.” I of course asked why… “Because I ALWAYS come home with water in my ears, right?” “Well, if we bring the dropper and fill up my ears in the bathroom BEFORE I jump in, the Y won’t lose so much water!” The dropper is packed in the swim bag, ready to go.