Wednesday, March 2, 2011

getting rid of the pool today

After weighing options for some time, we've decided to take the plunge and have our swimming pool removed. If everything goes to plan, the contractors will start draining it this afternoon.

You see, the pool started leaking last month. Figuring the cost of fixing it would be much higher in the long run, my parents opted to remove the pool. This wasn't an easy decision: even though it was rarely used in recent years, the pool has great sentimental value because we've had it since moving here 17 years ago. I'm definitely a little sad to see it go.

On the bright side, demolishing the pool will help save at least $2,000 a year in maintenance costs. It also means we'll be getting a more spacious backyard. Although we haven't yet decided what to do with the extra space, Mom's thinking about expanding her organic vegetable garden.

Funnily enough, I was afraid of water as a kid and begged to have the pool drained when we moved to our current home. You could say I finally got my wish after all those years. The other thing is that I constantly feared someone would accidentally fall in and drown. Perhaps I'm paranoid, but at least that's one less thing to worry about. Haha.