Seasons

It’s Monday, September 2, 2024, 9:45 AM or so. I’m normally at work at 9:45 on a Monday morning but today is Labor Day, my very least favorite holiday. 

The pool will open for the day in about two hours. For the first few hours, it will be a normal pool day, with the adult swim whistle blowing at 45 minutes past the hour every hour. It will be more crowded than usual, of course, because holidays are free guest days, and everyone will want to get their last swim in. But by 5:30 or so, the occasional swimmers and the families with very young children will have cleared out, leaving the last few hours to the serious pool denizens. The lane ropes and the rope that marks off the diving well will be gone. The lifeguards won’t bother with the last two adult swim whistles. There will be simultaneous games of knock-out, sharks and minnows, and water polo with lounge chairs as goals. It’ll be fun, but a little frantic. And then as it’s getting dark, the final whistle will blow and pool summer will be over. And I’ll feel a little bereft and sad for a few days, but by next week at this time, it’ll be fine. It’s nice to have seasons, even when your very favorite one has to end.