The Photometer

Summertime recalls many fond memories of our years in Texas. I was not working in the summer and we were able to spend a lot of time with our young children.  The summer days would get hot in Texas, so we had routines to keep out of the heat with our active children. We had to get outside, though, or our house would have been a wreck from their boundless energy. On a typical day we would get up early and go for a bike ride to a nearby park. We tried to get out before it would get too hot, but we stayed on roads that did not have heavy traffic.

In the afternoons we would go to the local pool, where they recently added a splash park. The park was fun and a welcome relief from the heat when it got over 100 degrees. The facility itself had three different pools that each of our boys spent some time in. The large indoor pool was great for swimming laps, playing water basketball, and for diving into the pool. The small kiddy pool was not used for very long on any days we used it, especially by Joshua, for reasons I will soon explain. Being shallow, it often had toddlers and young children exploring its depths and squealing in delight as they played with the waterfall. When the pool was not busy we enjoyed crawling around pretending to be some type of pool alligator. Or we would launch ourselves from the edge of the small pool to play tag or to dive after the colorful diving sticks that we brought along. By far, however, it was the large outdoor pool where we spent most of our time.

In this large pool we played, each day, a favorite game, learned how to swim, explored underwater, and often just made up new games. When the children each turned about 3 they all really enjoyed jumping from the edge of the pool to Jami and I. Joshua, I noted, seemed to cherish this activity the most.  In fact, if it weren’t for a quirky response to the Sun that Joshua had, I don’t think our outstretched arms could have kept up with him. (To support this I site an instance on the 4^th of July, where Joshua as a toddler jumped so much while Arnold Marquez was holding him that Arnold’s arms gave out!) Fortunately for us, Joshua had a specific set of conditions in which he was able to jump. And if those conditions persisted, Joshua was unstoppable.  

Joshua could detect how much light the Sun was producing. He seemed to have a built in photometer, sensing how much thermal energy was present based on how bright the light was. When the Sun was bright and full, Joshua quickly perched himself on the edge of the pool, ready to gaily jump into the water. Should a stray cloud appear to cover the Sun, Joshua clenched his long arms around his chest, clenched his teeth and sprouted goose bumps. With great reluctance, but impressive speed, he would get out of the pool to wrap himself in his oversized towel, looking very much like a disgruntled mummy with plush terry-clothe wrapping. (This behavior explains why Joshua was not inclined to spend much time in the small pool. It had too much shade.)

But, once the cloud moved on, Joshua would cast aside his towel and once again throw his strong, lithe body into the pool.  To Joshua, this was what summer was all about.