Andy opened the pool this past week and quickly brought the temperature up to the 80’s. It turns out that I need it there, despite my best intentions. On the first day, it rose to 74 degrees, and that sounded doable. I’d been working in the garden and the sun – and it was basically he first day I’ve had such sun exposure this year. In the excitement and work of trying to wrestle an unruly clump of Fountain grass into submission, rather unsuccessfully at that, I felt dizzy and shaky and overheated, so I thought a quick dip in 74 degree water would be ideal, just like I used to do as a kid.
I made it to my waist, and then realized that my tolerance as an adult apparently begins at about 80 degrees. I got out, dried my lower half off, and waited until it got into the 80’s, at which point I jumped in and enjoyed the first swim of the season.
JoAnn has scheduled her first visit with us since COVID began for this July, and this is the start of the coming summer season. It felt good to give in to some hope, and to indulge in some planning for the future. That’s been the saddest part of this pandemic – not being able to plan for the future. We are taking tentative steps to finding that joy again, and that begins simply with a dip in the pool.
