Grandmother Becomes Lifeguard so Local Kids Get to Swim

​Robin Borlandoe: These news stories have been about me being 70, but there’s more to this than that. There’s a reason why I did it. I was bored, of course, but now that I’m in it, I see the value. There was a little girl on the side of the pool. You can’t come in the pool if you have just clothes, so she had to sit on the side of the pool. I said, “Why is she not getting in?” and the brother said she doesn’t have a bathing suit. So I said, “You know what, come back, I’ll be here on Monday.” So that Sunday, I put out a text about this girl and to see if anybody has any suits. Well, my phone blew up. I now have goggles; swimmers, the little diapers that kids wear; floaties for their arms; and bathing suits. People have just come out and have supported this. On Wednesday, a boy split his suit and he was leaving, and I said, “Where are you going?” He said, “Oh, I don’t have a suit.” I said, “Come on Sunday.” I’ll have a bathing suit for that little girl and swim trunks for him. So it’s making that connection with these kids. I’m not just there to tell them to stop running. I’m there to help. I’m there to talk. I’m there for a smile. I’m there for a high five. ​

​Being a mother and a grandmother, I can sort of detect things that maybe the younger lifeguards don’t detect, only because I lived through that. It takes being a mother to tell when a child is in distress just by a look, especially if you’ve seen them day after day. If they’re just sad, if they’re not happy, if they’re being bullied, I just know. I can detect, I can see. Or even if they just need a hug. There’s this one little boy that every time I see him now, he puts his hand up and we high-five each other. So just that mother and grandmother instinct kicks in. You see things differently or sense something is going to happen because somebody is being splashed. ​

​My advice for stepping outside of your comfort zone? Oh my goodness, just to push. You don’t know where it’s going to lead you. You know one thing, that just giving it a chance is going to benefit you health-wise and mentally. I heard somebody say when your moment comes, you’ll know it. Seize the moment. So that’s what we need to do as a people. Seize the moment, no matter how small it is. Get out there and just do it. Make it an adventure. Embrace it. I remember this talk from Jane Fonda; it’s called “Life’s Third Act.” Your first act is yourself growing up. The second is you raising your family, kids and your work. And now 60 and up is your third act. Embrace it, let’s go for it, let’s do this. And that’s why I always say make a statement. It’s never too late. ​​​