29 June 2016

A Backyard Swimming Pool: A Blessing in Disguise

There's nothing likd the Summer Solstice and Fourth of July weekend to get you amped up about summer and wanting to make plans. It's crazy to realize we are already a full month into school summer vacation. Scary. When I think about the whole idea of 18 summers, the number of summers one has with a child from birth to high school graduation, the desire to make the most of every summer really increases! We're down to only 8 more summers after this one. Time is going by quickly!


So despite the fact that we have lots of work to do on the house and it's easy to let summer days slip away, I am feeling very passionate that we enjoy our summer. For this one reason, I am so happy about our backyard and grateful we have a pool, even though we didn't want a pool and it is a lot of work and cost.

Saturday after many hours of work on the house, I broke out banana splits and put my swimsuit on and led the family to the pool. We played and played and played in the pool for a good two hours, including a good aqua workout using foam noodles. I was reminded that there is something very stress-relieving about water and it is truly therapeutic to both body and mind.

Hopping into the pool disconnects us from other parts of our relationships with the backyard, like weeding flower beds, watering plants, pool upkeep and sweeping the flagstone patio and paths. There is nothing that feels better after a few hours of sweaty, hot work than jumping into the pool and really cooling off. There is no heater in the pool so you get what you get on the temperature.

I had to pinch myself for a moment that this sweet backyard and perfectly lovely pool are ours. Where I grew up, people didn't have pools in their backyard. There were only about three pools in town. But when you live in the southwest United States, where temperatures are mild, most days are sunny and summers are hot and dry, many houses have pools and it's not unusual at all to have one.

Despite the fact we never wanted a pool and the upkeep is both expensive and time-consuming, I realize it's a big reason that the luxury of our sweet little backyard keeps us at home a lot, we don't spend a lot of time and money going out looking for entertainment. The Kiddo and pup spend hours out there chasing lizards and all sort of bugs...and thankfully usually only outside "The Rim" (the wall around the landscaped part of our yard) there are frequently bunnies, field mice and sometimes snakes and tarantulas.

Saturday night after we got out of the pool we spent a good ten minutes watching a pack of deer go from out front yard down the side of our property outside The Rim, grazing in the trees. They were watching us just as intently as we watched them. There were two males who had stubby little velvety antlers. So cute!

It's amazing how many hours we can entertain ourselves out there, enjoying the stunning nightly sunsets and lovely dinners on the patio. I can't wait to get some of our new friends here for dinner and conversation on the patio.

To make the most of our summer, we still need to make some plans to visit family this summer and take a few weekend getaways to get to know our new home state better. There are so many stunningly beautiful places to see in NM. If you want to get a glimpse of this amazing state, here's a great place to learn about New Mexico and see all the beautiful places you could visit.

We'll be out and about, but most of all we'll keep adding to our pool toys and backyard seating this summer. And we'll take every opportunity to enjoy our own little space to make the most of Kiddo's 10th summer and our first full summer in our new home, city and state.

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