Well, here it is late summer again. And I must say — I’m ready for fall. If you’d have told me 20 years ago that I’d be writing that now, I’d have looked at you like you were crazy. But it’s true.. I’m just not crazy about summer these days. It’s not really the heat — being a profuse perspirer, I’ve always disliked the heat, but I haven’t always disliked summer. I think the main culprit is our house. Now, you’d think our house would be the ideal place to spend summer, with a big yard and a pool. And yeah, I guess it is ideal if you’re a kid and don’t have to take care of the place. But the upkeep on the place, combined with working full time and helping care for two small kids, doesn’t leave much time to enjoy the amenities. What it boils down to is, it never seems like there’s enough time in the day, and after a couple of months, it starts to get old.
Owning a pool has proven to be interesting. I do enjoy getting in the pool, particularly with my son. But it’s funny — when you spend a certain amount of time and money on the upkeep of a pool, and the pool is lightly used, you actually start to feel obligated to get in the pool to make it seem worthwhile. And when the pool sits unused for more than a few days, you start wondering why you’re putting so much into it, and then you start entertaining thoughts of having it filled in. People have told me that my best pool-ownership days are ahead of me, when the kids get to the age where they’re swimming all day, every day. I’m looking forward to that, but once the kids are past that age, I want to move — seriously. Because at that point, pool ownership just won’t be worthwhile any more.
But anyhow… I want to like summer again. I dislike it now, but I still get a little sad when it ends. Everything is a phase. Eventually, life will be less crazy and I’ll be able to kick back and enjoy summer again. We may need to move, the kids may need to get a little older. But it’ll eventually happen.