I’ve had the pleasure of opening and closing our family pool for years. And I have to tell you… it does not get more fun as I get older! I love our backyard, including the pool that came with it. It’s 20 by 40 foot in-ground pool, a beautiful sight to see… when it wants to cooperate!

Every year I’ve had to deal with something new. Two years ago, it was the summer of relentless algae. Last year I had to replace the sand filter, and this year… Oh, this year takes the cake! I have to rip up the concrete to redo the plumbing!

When I was closing the pool last fall, and in the process of clearing out the lines, I noticed a leak. Not exactly a small leak, it looked more like Jed Clampett’s ‘a-bubblin’ crude’, however this wasn’t gonna make me rich, quite the opposite. On top of that, We had to fish our winter cover out of the pool after that wind storm we had earlier this year!

If we didn’t have kids, I’d say screw it! But I can’t let them down. I just hope I end up swimming more than the whopping three times I made it in last year!