All through the fall and winter and some of spring I look out into my backyard and see that it is bare, gray, cold and sad – oh wait, maybe that’s just me. Our pool has an ugly brown cover with rotting debris and I know that the water is icy and dark.Typing this brings me down.

Last week, Dennis opened the pool. It suddenly sprang to life, all sparkly and blue, brightening the yard, along with all the new summer foliage. And I waited. I waited for just the right moment – for my ‘first float’. Mother’s Day brought me a new raft, eager to be filled with air and waiting just like me.

Thanks to our recent NJ heatwave, three days in the blazing sun, along with our new solar heater the temperature in the pool hit a balmy 80 degrees. Gavin and Mikey left for a hockey game, Ethan was perusing Netflix and I knew that the time was right. Sean and I would share the space and float in the pool together.

On that raft, in the hot, hot sun, all is well in the world. I love the feel the blazing sun on my skin, but being perfectly comfortable in the cool water. I like the gentle bobbing of the water and the orange and red sunlight penetrating my eyelids. It’s totally dreamy. I bob and float until my heart is content – or until my iPhone overheats and shuts down Pandora and the little girls from across the street come over shrieking and laughing complete with their goggles.

It was nice while it lasted.