The pool is a metaphor

My poor pool is trying to come back from another upset. It is still pretty green, but much less green than it was yesterday.

It all started back in May. There were some modifications that Cecil wanted made to the pool and hot tub, and he wanted a concrete pad poured under the equipment, the filter media replaced, a new heater, and some piping modifications.

The initial work went well, but it meant that the pool wasn't filtered for a while, and it got green. Cecil died before all the work was completed. I got the pool and hot tub in good shape for everyone to use while they were here for the funeral. After the funeral, the pool had a couple of good weeks, then the filter housing started leaking. New filter. Got the pool back in good shape.

Then the pump started leaking. Then leaked catastrophically. Had to turn off filtration until it could be repaired. Back to trying to rehab the pool.

That's the metaphor. Every time I think I am starting to get my feet back under me, something fails, breaks, sets me back. Me and the pool have experienced setback after setback since May 2023.

I know for me it will be like this for as long as it will be like this. Grief doesn't have a timetable. I hope for my pool, this is the last setback for a while. Because of all the challenges, I lost most of the good pool days this summer. I wasn't up for them anyway. Hopefully, next summer, me and the pool will be more stable.

But as I work the process of getting the water crystal clear again, it reminds me that things can be fixed, cleaned, rehabilitated. And it can be done over and over again. And no matter how many times the pool needs extra attention to serve its purpose, it always comes back. And I can too.