For my teenage lifeguard self
As I write this, summer is looming. Planning is underway. Is there water in the pool? Check. Chlorine? Check. Cash registers installed? Check. Lifeguards hired? Oops! Couldn’t check off that box? Couldn’t get enough staff members? If it makes you feel any better, you are not alone. The issue is nationwide. Having a wonderful facility without enough staff to manage is a reality these days.
As I think about how to recruit new staff members, I imagine being stuck in an elevator with my teenage lifeguard self, on the way to my first lifeguard job. It is 1991 when I first sat in a chair with a whistle. The elevator is stuck between floors, and no one knows for how long. Settling in, I try to tell my teenage self about how it all works, but even more than that—why this job matters.
I remember the anticipation of my first job, the prospect of making money, spending the summer at the pool, and drinking in sunshine, friends, ice cream, hot dogs, and girls in swimsuits. I was young and invincible, hedging my bets that “Nothing will happen here.” And nothing did. Even today, a lot of the job is anticipation, with few incidents. The guard job takes place in what is defined as a “high-stakes environment,” which is any environment or situation where decisions may result in injury or loss of life. That is a lot of responsibility for anyone, let alone a teenager. That thought was not on my brain at the time, though it was much more of a reality than my other young-adult jobs, waiting tables, delivering pizzas, or driving the hand truck in a meat locker. My older self now realizes that guards physically are only able to watch one swimmer at a time, and that I could get the “it happened” call at any time.