When we decided to move out to the country, I PROMISED the kids we'd get them a pool. You know those round plastic pools, about 4 ft deep, with the inflatable rim? I reasoned that I didn't want to have to run them into town every hot day to use the township pool. I wouldn't be able to send them down the street to a friend's house anymore. And besides, maybe I'd like a swim too. The inflatable pool seemed like an ever better idea when we decided to temporarily move to the Ol' Homestead with the grandparents first. We can take it with us when we move!
Being July, and having just survived a heat wave with the exact same temperatures as Miami Florida, the pressure was on. I PROMISED that pool. PROMISED.
Good news - they're on sale. We decided to buy it before they're all gone. Jethro and I both looked slightly ill at the checkout. We have so many things to pay for. Debts to pay off, bills to pay, repairs to be paid for. BUT WE PROMISED. We mumbled to each other about how our kids are pretty happy about there at the Ol' Homestead, and don't get bored, and haven't complained about the lack of X-360-Nintendo-sega-64 game things. They've been pretty low-maintenance, really. Also, WE PROMISED.
Once home, the full reality of the country landscape hit us.
This property slopes gently away from the road. A truly flat space of lawn is hard to find. The spot we picked out is just barely big enough to shoehorn that pool between the house and the back lane. We'll still have to do some levelling first.
My ol' man decided his tractor isn't powerful enough, so we might as well get a guy in with a Bobcat... and of course, that back door has been nailed shut for a few years. We'll have to do something about that... especially since the back steps have been missing for a long time now...
Jethro started getting excited. Oh boy, building a DECK! This will involve power tools!
I started up a nervous sweat.
I calmed myself by remembering that this little back porch will be a nice spot for my parents to relax even after we move out and take the pool with us someday.
The grandparents deserve it. I suddenly wanted badly to pay for it, and throw a brand new door into the deal while we're at it. We'll still get the vet bill paid. We can do this. We can do the work ourselves, and it won't cost much because we can shop around. We can do this.
WE PROMISED!
2 comments:
I get myself into this kind of predicament all the time. Nothing is really what the price tag says. :)
Hopefully, you'll get it set up without too much an issue and have the rest of the summer full of enjoyment.
It's something the kids will always remember too. Not just that you kept your promise, but just the fun they have, and the time they'll spend there with you.
It'll be worth much more than what you pay in the long run, I'll bet.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Isn't that just the way it goes? One day you decide to move the sago palm blocking the view, but first you have to dig out the babies, then dig a big hole around the thing so you don't kill it, then you have to use a come along in the tree branch above it to pull it out and get it on the trailer, then you've got to make sure the guy you are giving it to has his hole dug, then you have to haul it over there and get it in HIS hole, then when you get back home, you've got a huge hole you've got to fill back in, but wait...you'll be smart and fill it in with the red sand in the back yard and keep the good dirt to do other things with, like fixing the dead spots in the front yard, so you make a wheelbarrow full of good dirt, haul it to the back yard and make a pile, then haul a wheelbarrow full of sand to the front and put it in the hole, rinse and repeat several times, and then you realize that it's 101° heat index and you're about to DIE, so you quit when the hole is only 1/2 filled and there is still a pile of dirt off to the side. Originally, all you wanted was the sago gone from blocking the view.
I can see how these things get away from you. AHAHAHAHA!
(I'm so tired now...)
Post a Comment