Those 2 or 3 long-time readers of this inane blog will remember the sad saga of the pool that would not be filled.  The pool in our complex remained stubbornly half-full and green despite the repeated rantings and threats that I issued to anyone who looked like they were even remotely in charge of maintenance or association matters here.

So, this weekend, when we were informed that it had indeed not only been filled, but also chlorinated, you can bet that we’d be the first ones there to test the water.  I mean, after 9 months of being told “next week, next week,” it is a glorious and exciting day when “next week” finally comes.  Never mind that it is winter here.  Never mind that there is no pool heater.  Never mind that there are piles of construction materials surrounding it, rats in the adjoining rooms and dirt on the pool deck.  The pool was filled, clean AND clear, and the kids were going in.

Wetsuits donned, towels and robes in hand, the children eagerly raced to the clubhouse for the moment that we had all been waiting for.  I brushed aside the dirt from a step down into the pool area to make myself a place to sit (there were no chairs, of course), and cheered the kids on as they made the great leap.

The first place they landed was in the small “hot tub” area.  NOw, this isn’t a hot tub because there is no heater, but it looks like one.  Both of them bravely jumped in into water that went about to their knees.  Wow.  Impressive. NOT.

I finally encouraged Ender to jump into the real pool.  He made a nice splash, prompting one of the clubhouse managers to come running, afraid that he couldn’t swim.  He seemed amazed that Ender could swim…it is actually not that common here.  I’m not certain what he planned to do about it…I kinda got the feeling that he probably didn’t swim himself.  After he assured himself that all was well, he and his buddy stood for about 15 minutes watching the proceedings with big grins.

Ender jumped in the pool exactly 2X and swam back and forth maybe twice both ways, and then headed for the very exciting “hot tub” again.  I’m not certain what the attraction was, but that is where he stayed.  Addie swam in the big pool for all of 5 minutes and then joined her brother in the hot tub as well, where they splashed around like toddlers for the remainder of our stay.  I tried in vain to get them to make use of the actual pool to no avail.  After a short time, they began to turn blue, and our little swimming adventure was at an end.

Though we didn’t use it long, at least we used it.  The kids were thrilled, and I felt like all my hard work and agressive posturing paid off.  The payoff was a long time in coming, and I had truly given up hope, but it came just the same. Next time I won’t give up after 3 months and instead, hold out until 4.  Maybe 4 is the magic number!