I grew up swimming in a lake, entering either at the town park or off of my parents’ boat. I have memories of playing in the sand at the beach; digging holes and building castles, but as far as the water goes I mostly remember having little fish nibble at my toes. I enjoyed spending time on the lake onboard the boat. Swimming off of it was even fun, or tubing or being with my dad in a raft paddling off the boat. Mostly I spent hot summer days swimming in friends’ pools. This was much more enjoyable for me, no fish, no water plants and I could see the bottom.
I now live along the Mississippi River (my town, not my house). Although I think the river is beautiful in its own “Big Muddy” kind of way the idea of swimming in it or another river in town that has a town beach does not appeal to me at all. I’ve been to both beaches a few times for the sake of my children, but I rarely get wet up to my shoulders. I take them for the lure of the sand. I much prefer to spending hot summer days at our city’s pool with a zero depth entrance, two water slides and a few other water attractions.
Last summer my in-laws gave us a great inflatable pool for our backyard (8’ x 4’ – totally guessing). It wasn’t inflated this summer (which I swear began in March this year) until my husband suggested it. Although the kids have enjoyed it, as has my husband, and myself too on a few occasions, I am still drawn to the city pool. Our pool has been emptied and refilled once or twice this year. Two days I took a look at it and to my utter disgust the bottom was covered in algae! Yuck! I began draining it, which soon proved to be a bigger job than I had the patience for, so, my one chore for today was to clean it. I went outside, began draining it and all I could think of was how I never swam in ponds. Then I thought about the lake I swam in as a child and I remembered preferring to swim in pools. Then I watched the water I was draining turn to green and watched it run over my feet with a disgusted expression on my face.
The pool is now empty, I used the hose to spray some algae out (much less came off than I had hoped), then I began scrubbing the algae out with rags. Of course, that also didn’t go as easily has I had hoped. So, for now the pool is in the driveway in hopes that the underside, where there is no algae, will dry. I scrubbed for as long as I could stomach. Between a child throwing up this morning and scrubbing algae I have successfully lost my afternoon appetite.
When my husband (then boyfriend) has a fish tank with three large fish my favorite was the plecostomus, the algae eater. If only one could be put in my pool, when my toes weren’t in it.
As I type this, the rags are in my new washing machine on the “sanitize” setting and I wish I could put myself in there with them.
That house down the street that I sometimes fantasize about living in one day, the one with the above ground pool, I think would look great with a fifteen-foot (another total guess) round garden with a deck attached.
