The Resurrection

Like many other New Yorkers, my work life came to a screeching halt when our Governor instituted a lockdown for nonessential workers in mid-march. Having lived a pretty over-committed life by this point, I now had an enormous amount of free time on my hands, and what better way to use that time? Hang out with my mom at her house every afternoon. We yacked, we drove around and watched spring burst out, we decorated my car and got in line for countless drive-by birthday parades, and we continued doing jigsaw puzzles (more on that later). When the really warm weather came we spent a lot of our time out on her elevated terrace which has a view of the stone inground children’s pool covered over for the last 47 years.

Me: What do you think of me getting the pool up in running?

Mom: Are you talking about actually filling it and going in?

Me: That’s exactly what I’m talking about.

Mom: Don’t you think you’re a bit tall and a bit old to go in there? What about the ivy? And who knows what’s under that!

Me: I will get the guys to remove the ivy and a mason to fill the cracks. It’s going to be a hot summer. All the clubs are closed, the beaches are shut down! We need to be able to go into the water!

Mom: I’m not going in there.

Me: I’m not asking you to go in there.

Mom: You are a true nut.

I got cracking. The gardeners pulled out the ivy. One of them asked me while hard at work:

Jon: You’re filling this up with fish right?

Me: Nope. I’m going to fill it up with water and hopefully me.  I haven’t been in this pool since I was 10 years old.  This is the year I am getting back in.

Jon’s eyes popped out of his head a little.  Then he giggled.

Next was Tony the plumber who snaked the drain and figured out there was a dry well on the other side of the yard.  He refitted part of the drain pipe.

Tony: Who knows what condition the pipe is under there if this thing was built in the ’20s but I say go for it.

Me: You’ll have to come back for a dip.

Tony: Thanks but I already have a pool.

I took that as a no.

The mason came the next day, filled in the cracks, power washed the surface and turned down my offer to come back and give the pool a whirl. Whatever. More time for me.

This is going to sound weird (what hasn’t so far?) but going in that pool for the first time on a hot July 25th day, in the freshwater, with no chlorine made me feel like I was 10 again. It was the biggest bright spot in the months of lockdown, anxiety, and loss. Frankly, it was an elixir.

I have gone in almost every day since. I’m not kidding. Rain or shine.  Maybe I have missed five days since July. And others (not the gardener, plumber, or the mason!) went in too. The grandchildren of a dear friend came and went in. My childhood babysitter Diane came with her daughter and granddaughters. Some of my grown-up pals came and went in (one of those gals had been in 47 years ago).  It was magic land again. We were little girls again. We felt safe again. And mom loved watching every minute, which was really the whole point.