When I was eight years old, my dad and I sat together in our backyard and watched the workmen dig our grass and dirt to put in a new above-the-ground swimming pool. My mom referred to our pool as a "15 Round" which meant that it measured fifteen feet in diameter. The outside was blue, and it had straight white panels going down each side with the words "Esther Williams" printed on them. My grandmother told me that Esther Williams was a very famous swimmer who starred in Hollywood movies many years ago.
Every summer, my best friend, Ania, and I spent most of our time in my pool. Even though she had an oval, above-the-ground swimming pool in her own backyard, we were always in mine. A few times, we stayed in so long that our lips turned blue! We loved being in my swimming pool so much that we never realized we were cold - probably because we were always moving and jumping up and down. One summer, I spent so much time doing handstands and cartwheels underwater that I came down with an ear infection. I had to take ear drops and wear earplugs every summer after that. Sometimes, I pretended I was a mermaid and that my swimming pool was a big tank I lived in while on land. Nothing felt better than being in my swimming pool.
But then I grew up and left home for college in Boston. While I was away, my mom sold the house. For many years after that, I had a recurring dream that I returned to my childhood home, and the water in my swimming pool turned green. I was distraught that the pool was unusable. I figured I dreamed this because shortly before I had left home, our pool water really did turn green. I hadn't been very good at keeping up with putting in the scoops of chlorine and running the filter. My dad was the one in charge of our pool, but he passed away when I was fifteen. In my dreams, as soon as I saw that the water was green, I went on a desperate quest for chlorine. Sometimes, I'd look in my shed and other times I'd try to find a store somewhere, hoping it was still open in the middle of the night. Eventually, I'd find one, and I'd spend the rest of the dream measuring out the chlorine.
I've never had my own pool as an adult, but I always enjoy them whenever I get to swim. One of my favorites is this wave pool in Pennsylvania. I didn't know one existed until I went in. It was the best of both worlds, as my other favorite place in the world is the ocean. One time, I was staying at a hotel in Nevada, near Las Vegas, and the hotel pool was an inground pool that had the pool water streaming right up onto the concrete floor at your feet as you approached it. I was only in Nevada for a couple of days and had a jam-packed schedule with family who live there so I didn't make time to go into the pool. Ever since that day, I STILL regret that I didn't go in, and I swear I will one day go back to that same hotel so I can get into that particular swimming pool!
Over the years, the swimming pool water in my recurring dreams began to appear clearer and less green. I haven't had one of those dreams in a while. Sometimes, I miss having a swimming pool to call my own. I can't have one in my backyard now because my small yard is on a slanted hill which is nearly all rock. But I guess it would be possible to put in a pool if I hired an expert to check the yard out. I mean, if I can find a store to buy chlorine in the middle of the night, then I suppose anything is possible!
Esther Williams in 1953 (cinemasips.com)
