Rant #2,916: Do the Swim

I’m back!
 
I took care of what I had to do early yesterday, and I proudly return back to my regular perch here.
 
Among the things that had to be done yesterday was that our pool had to be opened for the impending summer, and we had our regular pool man over to do just that.
 
This year was more of a challenge, as the pool—at least 20 years old, I would estimate—needed a new motor and needed to be cleaned out, as the ravages of winter and a lot of rain and wind really made this thing into a gully for who knows what.
 
I started the cleaning up last week by actually venturing into the pool to retrieve the bench that we use on the pool’s “patio,” which is how we get into the pool.
 
It is an elevated structure that is just wide enough for a bench, and we have to take a few stairs to get onto it.
 
The winds of the winter literally took the bench and blew it into the pool, and although I tried to grab the bench outside the pool, I eventually had to go into the pool—albeit, with one leg—to actually get it and put it back where it belonged.
 
And when I came out of the pool, with all the muck in there, I immediately cleaned off my leg as best I could with soap and water in the bathroom.
 
With that done, we just had to wait for the pool man to come with his crew—one other person this year—and he came yesterday.
 
He hooked up the motor, which helps circulate whatever chemicals we put in the pool like clarifier, algaecide and shock, and he set up the pool so it is ready to go.
 
However, one major problem exists.
 
The water in the pool is green right now, and I mean green as green can be, so green that even my color-blind and color-deficient eyes can see it.
 
The pool man told us that it would take at least three or four days to get the green out, and that we should continue to put in the various chemicals with the motor running to try to get it out and to make the water crystal clear.
 
So right now, we have a pool ready to go, but not ready to go because of the green water, probably brought on by algae, which comes from many factors, including the rainwater and snow that went into the pool over the past months of inactivity..
 
It is very frustrating, but we are going to work on it and get it right.
 
If by the end of the week it remains as green as Green Lantern, then we have a local pool place where we bring our pool water samples to be tested that can help us out.
 
I am sure it is a doable and fixable situation, and we will just have to be patient.
 
But I was so warm yesterday with all the humidity that if the pool was clear, I would have jumped right in.
 
The pool is such an important part of our life during the summer, and it has become even more important during the past nearly three years.
 
After I lost my job and the pandemic really took hold of our lives in the ensuing months, the pool became my wife and my salvation.
 
She was still working full-time but on an intermittent schedule brought on by pandemic protocols, so we had much down time, and with everything closed or not regularly open, the pool gave us something to look forward to, and we spent countless days relaxing there and filling up our days there.
 
If you remember, there was a rush to get pools during that period, simply because people had nothing to do and it also gave them something to do segmented away from others, so it was almost a protection device against getting COVID.
 
We were lucky, because we already had our pool in place.
 
Last year, we went into the pool a total of three times, because the motor broke and the water became turgid.
 
So we are hoping that this year, with my wife fully joining me on the retirement line, that we really can get a lot of use out of the old pool, but the green has to go first.
 
I am sure that this is a somewhat minor problem and will get better as we take care of it, but let’s see what happens before I assume anything.
 
I have always loved the water, even though I am not much of a swimmer.
 
The pool has always cooled me off, relaxed me, and gave me something to do on a slow day.
 
Of course, once we get this going, I still have other responsibilities—like taking my son to and from work—so I won’t be able to spend a while day in the water like I did a few years back, but however long I get in there for, it will be a refreshing nod to the day.
 
I really can’t wait to get the pool going, but as they say, the waiting is the hardest part.