This is what I looked like at 7 yrs old. When I lived on Sunset avenue next to 5 boys.
One spring my parents decided to put in a swimming pool. We had a HUGE backyard, one that had 3 terraces. The first, where the pool was going, was large and flat, then you went down about 8 steps to another flat area we had a badminton court, down a small slope you came to a fruit orchard. We had apricots, apples, peaches, plums, and oranges.It was a great backyard for a kid to grow up in. It was a magical place.
So one day the tractors came and started digging the hole in the ground for the pool, it was so noisey and exciting. Everytime they dug deep and picked up a load full of soil they would take it and dump it in the driveway. The smell of diesel was in the air.
My Mom Bette had a worried look on her face as the driveway began to fill up.
By 6 pm the driveway was a MOUNTAIN, seemed to be 40 feet tall! Every kid in the neighborhood drawn to it like a powerful magnet. We jumped, dove, tumbled and flew thru the mounds of fresh soil. I saw my Mom on the phone, the mountain was tall enough for me to see into the second story of the house. She had many a stressfull conversations late that day....something was going on.
When my Dad came home I knew something was wrong. He stood out in the back waving his arms at Mom. She had a sheepish grin on her face. As it turned out the company that dug the hole was not the one's that would haul away the mountain. The mountain stayed in our driveway for what seemed like years! This was a great soruce of anguish for Mom as she had not orchestrated the hauling away of this mess. The house always had dirt in it. We would play on the mountain, and end up bringing pounds of it inside. I had dirt in every orifice in my body. Then it rained a freak summer downpour! Could it get any better. Jeffrey, David and I created rivers of diversion, guiding out toy saiboats from the very top of the mountain. It was a glorious mountain.
Once the dirt was finally removed, the pool sat for weeks with just a little water in the bottom....home to musquitos and frogs. We used to fish in the murky waters, knowing that at any moment the catch of the day would come flapping out of the pond. Once the 30,000 gallons of water went into the new pool all was well with the world. It was the only pool on the block, and with that I was able to wield much power that summer.
They wouldn't let me play basketball next door? Guess what, their swimming rights were taken away! I being the only single girl on the block knew this was the power I needed to keep the 5 boys next door in line.
It worked well, and we had a great summer. That was the summer I basically turned into a fish. My hair turned green and I was at one with the world. I used to have to wear socks after awhile as days in the pool you ended up with bloody feet. My dog Suzy would drop her ball in the water for you to throw for her, and ended up with bloody feet also because of running on the decking. I remember my Mom always yelling, "that's enough for Suzy" once she would see the bloody footprints on the deck. Suzy was as much in heaven with that pool as every one of us that summer on Sunset avenue.
18 February 2009
7 yrs old
This is what I looked like at 7 yrs old. When I lived on Sunset avenue next to 5 boys.
One spring my parents decided to put in a swimming pool. We had a HUGE backyard, one that had 3 terraces. The first, where the pool was going, was large and flat, then you went down about 8 steps to another flat area we had a badminton court, down a small slope you came to a fruit orchard. We had apricots, apples, peaches, plums, and oranges.It was a great backyard for a kid to grow up in. It was a magical place.
So one day the tractors came and started digging the hole in the ground for the pool, it was so noisey and exciting. Everytime they dug deep and picked up a load full of soil they would take it and dump it in the driveway. The smell of diesel was in the air.
My Mom Bette had a worried look on her face as the driveway began to fill up.
By 6 pm the driveway was a MOUNTAIN, seemed to be 40 feet tall! Every kid in the neighborhood drawn to it like a powerful magnet. We jumped, dove, tumbled and flew thru the mounds of fresh soil. I saw my Mom on the phone, the mountain was tall enough for me to see into the second story of the house. She had many a stressfull conversations late that day....something was going on.
When my Dad came home I knew something was wrong. He stood out in the back waving his arms at Mom. She had a sheepish grin on her face. As it turned out the company that dug the hole was not the one's that would haul away the mountain. The mountain stayed in our driveway for what seemed like years! This was a great soruce of anguish for Mom as she had not orchestrated the hauling away of this mess. The house always had dirt in it. We would play on the mountain, and end up bringing pounds of it inside. I had dirt in every orifice in my body. Then it rained a freak summer downpour! Could it get any better. Jeffrey, David and I created rivers of diversion, guiding out toy saiboats from the very top of the mountain. It was a glorious mountain.
Once the dirt was finally removed, the pool sat for weeks with just a little water in the bottom....home to musquitos and frogs. We used to fish in the murky waters, knowing that at any moment the catch of the day would come flapping out of the pond. Once the 30,000 gallons of water went into the new pool all was well with the world. It was the only pool on the block, and with that I was able to wield much power that summer.
They wouldn't let me play basketball next door? Guess what, their swimming rights were taken away! I being the only single girl on the block knew this was the power I needed to keep the 5 boys next door in line.
It worked well, and we had a great summer. That was the summer I basically turned into a fish. My hair turned green and I was at one with the world. I used to have to wear socks after awhile as days in the pool you ended up with bloody feet. My dog Suzy would drop her ball in the water for you to throw for her, and ended up with bloody feet also because of running on the decking. I remember my Mom always yelling, "that's enough for Suzy" once she would see the bloody footprints on the deck. Suzy was as much in heaven with that pool as every one of us that summer on Sunset avenue.
