My little backyard pool

As I floated around in my pool the other day, I contemplated life. This is what I concluded:

I am breathing. I am in my pool.

Therefore … life is good.

OK. It's not Dalai Lama. What did you expect? I don't mediate on a mountain in Tibet. I can't do a downward facing dog in yoga. Shoot. I can barely sit on my hind legs and beg like a dog.

What I'm trying to say is, I don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out life.

I want to say, I'm a simple gal with simple needs.

Ahhhh. But then I started to think about it. How simple is simple?

Take my little old backyard pool. Well, not literally. I enjoy it too much.

I just bought a container of chlorine tablets that cost me $60. Then there's the pH increase ($17), hose replacement ($13), shock ($5), clarifier ($8), test strips ($7) and the cost of electricity to run the filter (about $50 a month).

Not to mention the manpower to keep it clean. If I had to pay my "Pool Boy" in actual dollars, well, let's just say I wouldn't be able to afford him.

When I am in my pool, I like to have a Coke. So add $5 for a case of Coke to keep me happy for a week or two.

I need reading material. I love floating around with a favorite magazine or two. "A Primitive Place" and "Country Sampler" tie for top faves. "Cooking with Paula Deen" (yes, I still love Paula despite all the recent bad publicity) and "Taste of Home" rank up there. At $10 and $5 a pop, not cheap reads.

I love reading novels and mostly get them from the library … free! But library picks are not ideal for pool reading. If they "accidentally" fall in the pool, replacing that book is costly. Been there, done that twice. So I recently bought four paperbacks for $10 at the library. That way if they kind of get a little wet, I won't feel so bad.

Then there's the weekends. Because I have the pool, Sunday family get-togethers are at my house. So of course I have to provide snacks and dinner. I love doing it. I'm just saying … cha-ching, cha-ching.

We recently painted all the wood on the deck, replaced the carpeting, added white lattice and bought new chairs. The price tag on all that came to $600.

Suddenly, my simple little backyard pool doesn't sound so simple.

But the joy, peace, serenity and tranquility I derive from it?

Priceless.

Here's how I feel about my pool in a clamshell:

I have a little backyard pool,

It keeps me calm and keeps me cool.

I pray to wake to a sunny day,

So I can splash and I can play.

I like to float in my favorite chair,

Without a worry or a care.

Sometimes I'm Esther Williams,

Queen of the Aqua Ballet forums.

Sometimes I swim the English Channel,

Or float my way to far off islands.

I've been in many a water gun fight,

Wet battles of laughter, glee and sprite.

I can't explain the joy I feel,

I only know it's true and real,

That when I'm in my backyard pool,

My soul is refreshed and renewed.