Skip to main content

A Love/Hate Relationship

Why I love my pool:
•What is it that draws a person to the movement of water? Just watching it flow, even just round and round in a rectangle current, is mesmerizing
•The sound of the bubbling filter jet, especially late at night when the world is otherwise dark and still--the bubbling mixed with the sounds of frogs looking for dates makes a calming kind of music
•Day or night, floating on the surface with my ears just below the surface so that all I can hear is the sound of my own breathing, looking up at the clouds or stars and overhanging tree branches--a drug
•I want to give everything away, so offering my pool to my neighbors at all times brings joy
•The opening of the pool in May is a sign of summer and a signal to bring out the floaties and noodles

Why I hate my pool:
•This big hole in my yard requires daily care--skimming, vacuuming, filter emptying, chemical adjusting, ph testing...............blaaaaaaaaaaaah
•When Husband has a broken leg and can't do the job that has been traditionally his, it falls to me to maintain the whole bloody system
•While I enjoy the look of the trees in the back yard, they shower an endless stream of little bloomy seedling things. Every gust of wind brings a new rain of crap to be removed
•The filter is enclosed by a fence, and there are creatures inside the fence
•In the fall, while you wait for the pool guys to come over and close the thing, you still have to skim and treat and backwash, even though it's too darn cold to swim

I'd say the benefits outweigh the burdens. But I do love the fall--I'm ready to let go of the things of summer--light clothes, a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade on the patio, swimming. I'm eager to embrace the things of fall--warm comforting clothes, tea with honey, falling leaves, sleeping with the windows open on crisp cool nights, burrowed under the sheets and blankets.

During my final 2006 visit to the pool place to test the water, I learned the pool guys will be here Monday to close up the big hole in my yard, and I can't wait. Enough already.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows.
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse.
Still, it's so much clearer.
I forgot my shirt at the water's edge.
The moon is low tonight.

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
I'm not sure all these people understand.
It's not like years ago,
The fear of getting caught,
Of recklessness and water.
They cannot see me naked.
These things, they go away,
Replaced by everyday.

enough said?

Mr. Anonymous
8:57 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Classic Green Bean Bake

In anticipation of Thanksgiving, I feel I must post a recipe with plenty of good old American tradition. The classic Green Bean Bake was invented in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly, a home economist who worked for the Campbell's Soup Company. A study was done determining that 50% of all Americans have eaten the classic Green Bean Bake, and 38% of those believe it is best served during the holidays, mainly Thanksgiving. So, for the other 50% and for those in other countries where this dish may be unfamiliar--my treat: The Classic Green Bean Bake serves 6 to 8 1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon soy sauce Dash of fresh pepper 1 20-oz. bag frozen cut green beans, thawed* 1 2.8 oz can French-fried onions -Preheat the oven to 350 F -In a casserole dish, combine the soup, milk, soy sauce and pepper. Stir in the green beans and half of the onions. -Bake until bubbling, about 25 minutes. Top with the remaining onions and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve hot. *Or cook 1 ...
7 comments
Read more

Bring On the Bombs

In today's edition : I generally try to keep on top of cultural trends even if I don’t adopt them, but there is a growing movement that I have only just discovered. Not long ago, I was walking along in Berkeley, California while visiting my daughter, and I saw a signpost that had been covered with yarn, like someone had sewn a knitted scarf to it. It was colorful and randomly striped, and I pointed it out as if it were the most unusual thing in the world. That’s when my daughter explained the nature of what is known as yarn bombing. It’s when knitters attach something they’ve created to a public object, most often doing their deed stealthily and anonymously. They leave a “bomb,” so to speak, for no other purpose than to brighten up the place and to bring a little cheer to those passing by. Their work has been equated with graffiti, except that the woven yarn is not permanently installed and does no damage to the object it covers. And instead of signifying the territory of a street ...
2 comments
Read more

Cindy Loo Who In October

What is it with people and Cindy Loo Who? Of my last one hundred blog hits, forty have been direct visits from regular readers, and fifteen have been as a result of people searching for "Cindy Loo Who," the little pixie from Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas . A couple of years ago, I posted an image of the original Seuss illustration as compared to the TV cartoon image, and for some reason, that post is bringing in the crowds, relatively. Maybe it's the weather. It isn't even November yet, and already we've had frost and have had to dust off our winter coats. When it gets cold like this, I start to think about Christmasy things like listening to Nat King Cole and decorating the tree. It's ironic because I am offended when retailers start pushing holiday stuff early, but I don't mind my own private celebrations. When my sister and I were much younger and still living with our parents, we would pick a day in July, close the curtains to darken the ...
8 comments
Read more