Construction Complete!

Today is the day that we've been anticipating for the past few weeks. We've pulled together as a family and worked hard to make my pool dream a reality. Sometime today (hopefully early) the pool water truck will pull into our driveway and will fill our little summer oasis. I can't wait to start swimming!

Our pool isn't big by any standard, but you wouldn't know that by the amount of work that has gone into this  project. The main obstacle during construction was our yard which is not even remotely level. I was convinced that I was going to set up the smaller pool in the middle of the driveway as we did last summer.   I explained my disappointment to our neighbor during one of our afternoon coffee breaks and discovered him walking through our yard with a tape measure later that evening.


Undeterred by our landscape and always eager to help, Mr. Bill hatched a plan.  He offered to build a reinforced platform which could be leveled in lieu of bringing in bulldozers to physically flatten our yard. It sounded like a simple solution. Our larger pool was ordered and construction plans were drawn up.


The plan seemed perfect in its simplicity, and we all expected construction to take no more than three or four days. Instead it took two weeks, countless trips to Lowes, several hundred cuss words (from Mr. Bill) and a lot of sweat. Similar to the construction of the tree house last year, the weather was oppressive with heat in excess of 100 degrees and high humidity.


Mr. Bill is a true gem because he not only built the platform for us but also allowed Robby to "help" with the construction. The eager hands of an inexperienced six year old certainly slowed down the process, but Robby was delighted to be able to participate. Mr. Bill never shooed him away although it certainly would have been easier, and always stopped to answer questions or Robby's pleas for a turn with the drill or hammer.


While Robby and I were at my Mom's picnic, Scott and Mr. Bill worked most of Saturday to finish the platform. I was elated when I walked in the backyard to see the finished project and spent a few hours staining the wood, the final step.


I can hardly wait to see the pool water truck turn down our driveway. I'm not sure who's more excited: Robby and me to go swimming or Scott and Mr. Bill because the construction is complete! In either case, I owe them both a big plate of cookies and a debt of gratitude for all of their work to make my summer dream a reality.