A few months ago I helped out a neighbor on no notice by watching his 2 year old son for a few minutes while he ran a baseball glove over to the field where his 5 year old son was about to have a game. Though it has been a long time since I was the mom of young children, I remember the inconvenience of having to wrangle them into the car for a quick unexpected errand. So, without hesitation I went around the wall to the neighbor's yard and hung out for a few while the child continued to play, uninterrupted. As I waited with the child, I gazed around the yard and let my mind wander. I looked at the tiny details of sticks and and grass, imagined how the fallen pot might have gotten that way, and admired the pool. We have a pool too, but their pool was different. Ours has straight line edges, theirs is kidney shaped. Ours is a play style pool with a basketball net and volleyball setup, theirs is an elegant lounge style pool. Ours is front and center when you walk out the back door, theirs is tucked elegantly on the side of the yard creating atmosphere. After a little while, the dad returned and I left, fantasizing about how much better my own yard and pool could be.
Six weeks later we had a graduation party for our oldest daughter. Our neighbor and her kids were outside in their backyard and we no notice invited them over to join in the fun. They came and as she and I stood there chatting for a bit, watching everyone having a blast she said, "I like how your pool is right out in the center. I kinda wish ours was like that."
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