There were swimming lessons in lanes one and two with children pushing and gliding or doing torpedoes as it's called today and learning to breathe in and bubble out.
The rest of the pool was full of mothers and fathers and grandparents and teenage boys racing each other and a girl with a tattoo on her shoulder doing slow breaststroke in the fast lane.
"It's like Pitt Street this morning," I heard one of the regulars say, and he reminded me of how I felt when I returned to the pool in early January and had to share a lane.
But like most things in life I learnt to adapt and realised it was nice to see so many people enjoying their local pool and watching the kids at lessons get more confident each day. It's what public pools are for, to be shared by everyone!
And now the Australia Day long weekend is over and adults and kids are back at work and school, the morning order and tranquility has returned to Petersham Pool.
