May 01, 2002 - 2:14 p.m.
I forgot over the winter how attractive a swimming pool can look.
Don't get me wrong - it's still a pain in the ass, particularly yesterday - but it is quite attractive to look at.
We're purchasing a safety cover for it this spring - one of those loop loc mesh covers that can hold the weight of a small car. Since we're probably not going to get a lot of use out of the pool this summer (I can't go in for about 6 weeks postpartum), we agreed that we would feel a lot better with a safer cover over the water and we're hoping this will make it a little bit easier to maintain.
So the guy from the pool shop was scheduled to come by yesterday, handle opening the pool and measuring it for the cover. He was supposed to arrive around noon, just about the same time my parents came into town to spend some time with Zachary and watch him while I went for my (now bi-monthly) ob/gyn appointment.
At 1:00 the guy still hadn't shown up, resulting in Mike and I spending a lot more time on the phone than necessary to find out why, and the pool shop rescheduled for "sometime between 4:00 and 6:00." That gave me just barely enough time to get back from my doctor's office, if there wasn't a long wait. Mike, in the meantime, came home to collect a water sample to take in so we get chemicals can clear the water. He and I both arrived back within minutes of each other around 3:45.
The guy had come and left.
My parents had taken Zachary with them out shopping, so no one was home. He didn't even leave a note. Well, at least the filter was reassembled and the pump was running. Mike added the chemicals to the pool himself and returned to work to finish the huge project he was supposed to have done by the end of the work day... No estimate on what time he would be coming back home. (It ended up being about 10:30 pm.) Zachary came home tired and cranky (no nap) but brightened immediately when we mentioned going to Lulu's for dinner.
Zachary loves Lulu's - this mediocre little place (a lot like Friendly's, but with better service) on General Booth decorated in 50's retro decor. There's a juke box he likes to dance in front of, a lot of model cars he likes to look at, and a train that runs around the ceiling... that's usually broken. The food is far from outstanding, but the ice cream is pretty good and that's his favorite part anyway. He and my mother split a sundae and he drank about half of my milkshake. In between he managed a few bites of "real food." Getting him to bed after all that sugar was a treat...
