The Incredible, Inflatable Madness

The first of June dawned hot and humid here in Missouri, and as soon as the heat marked its prickly, sweaty presence, I remembered our inflatable pool.

The one that's been languishing, flattened and neglected, in a far corner of our back yard for the past 9 months, give or take a late Indian-summer weekend or two.

There was no telling if the thing was salvageable after being exposed to so many months of ice and snow and wind and sun and stomping toddler feet, but I gave it my best shot. 

Here's how my best shot looks: stare balefully at the mud-crusted vinyl circle for three days, wondering what manner of crawling creatures could be hiding under its blue bottom.  I was all set to leave it on the ground for another 9 months, if that meant I could avoid being freaked out by bugs or snakes or mud or something...but that would have meant a trip into town for a new pool. 

And 'town' right now has been a little bit more than I can bear.  I didn't want to drive anywhere to get a new pool, therefore I was left with one option: pool cleanup.  I commenced with much grimacing and tiptoeing, hoping to be spared the irritation of a rip or hole.

Three hours later....

The job was done.  I'd peeled a growing mushroom from the pool's wicked underbelly.  I'd sprayed a wriggling worm from between the wedged crevices.  I'd smashed a half-dozen spiders with my giant sponge.  I'd wasted gallons of hose-water in the scrubbing down of each mud-plastered inch of plastic.  I'd made myself dizzy by wasting gallons of fresh air from my own lungs to inflate the stupid, dirty thing.  I'd accidentally sat in a nest of tiny ticks or chiggers while doing the inflating, awarding myself with several itchy bumps in several inopportune places.

But it worked! 

We swam and splashed and invited our cousin, Evie, and the pool was a success! 

Nothing leaked that I could see, and if one ring lost a bit of height, I blew a few mouthfuls of air into it without much trouble.

For two whole days, my hard-won inflatable pool was nearly perfect.

Until we woke up yesterday and saw:

Sadness.

But now, finally, we're ready to make the trip into town for a new pool.  Our summer depends upon it.  And I promise promise promise to put the new one away properly at the end of the season.

My sanity depends upon it.