Summer ends – by most measurements – on Labor Day. Even if it isn’t the last official day of the summer season, with school starting, and the pool closing, it seems like it is. We made a point to visit the last day at the pool and I am poignantly reminded that more than anything in my life, as a child, I wanted our own pool.  

I say as a child because as an adult, at least by now, I probably could have made that dream into a reality, but, I haven’t.

There have certainly been more important things.  

I didn’t ignore this dream completely; we join the pool at the local country club. It is even close enough to walk and the kids can go on their own once they hit a certain age.  They know how to swim, the love the activity and they can’t play video games in the water. 

A win-win.

Our days (mostly late afternoons and early evenings) at the pool make the summer seem rather like a long vacation without the cost of hotel stays and dinner, lunch and breakfast out every day.  The slightly more expensive membership still doesn’t cost as much as a week away for five. 

Plus, it’s rarely crowded, so it is totally worth the extra couple hundred bucks.

Certainly our own pool – heated of course – would blow that cost out of the water, and ruin the back yard…but it would allow us to extend the summer. We might not be able to avoid the crowds of traffic driving to work, to school and everywhere tomorrow but it would help us prolong the fall from hitting us in the face – not quite as bad as the lifeguards who wished us a great winter as we left today! Plus, it may be 90+ during our September days, and I’d love a few more weeks…in the sun, feet in the water and relaxing after a long day of work, school or both.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl