…I may have died?!

It is very possible that I might have died today…metaphorically speaking!

Tim and I were in the process of building our current home and thought it would be a great idea to add a claw foot tub to the bathroom. Neither of us are tub guys, but it seemed like the perfect and necessary addition to our new craftsman’s styled house. During our search we found a person who thought they’d refinish tubs and had collected a number of wonderful antique bathtubs in hopes of starting a garage type refinishing business. For whatever reason they decided to not do that and had 2 leftover claw foot tubs in excellent shape. We couldn’t decide which one we wanted, so since the price was insanely good, we bought both. One we professionally finished with the claws coated in aluminum and was moved into the soon to be finished bathroom. The other one was carefully covered and stored in a safe place to be used…one day…17 years ago.

Summers in Alberta can be so darn nice. Lots of sun and warm days…when its not cool and raining. I’ve been bugging my guy for a long while, about getting a pool we could enjoy on one of those gorgeous Alberta days! A full blown concrete heated pool was never going to fly, with either of us (come on…I’m a practical guy, even when I dream…LOL) I researched a less expensive repurposed seacan that would make a perfect option as an infinity style pool off the deck. Seemed like a whole lot of effort to get the ground ready and still a fair chunk of change for this pool as well. I then compromised my dream to a super large cattle water tank styled pool I saw being built on a YouTube video. I called around and found 2 options…one close and the other a bit of a distance away.

What’s especially weird about the idea of a swimming pool is that I can’t really swim. I can get across from one side to the next with a mean breast stroke though. As a kid, I took 1 lesson and even though we had a pool in town, I almost never went to learn more. We have a deep and unusually clean Alberta lake close to our home and I’m scared to death of being fully submerged in there. If the truth be know, the weeds in that lake water will grab me and pull me under – just like they almost did when I was 10 and swimming in Lac Vincent – and I will drown! Other than a trip 30 years ago to Hawaii, we don’t vacation with a pool/resort in mind and if the hotel has a pool, I don’t use it.

What could possibly be the motivation for getting a pool? Nearly 5 years ago, we built an outdoor shower. What a glorious addition to our outdoor living space. I cannot count the number of times I have stood under the spray of that shower with the sun shining and a warm breeze across my skin resisting the need to end the shower. ‘I am not getting out…ever!’ The feeling of having a shower outdoors is so amazing and I KNOW that if I had a pool, I would feel that same amazing pleasure but with at least 100 times more intensity.

I can’t remember if Tim mentioned it or if I did, but during a meal on the deck we were talking about a pool for the umpteenth time. How would I know if I will really truly make the expense of buying something as major as the pool, worth it. We talked about ‘trying’ out a pool by using the claw foot tub we had stored all those years ago. Seemed fair and made sense. We pulled it out from its cover, loaded it on the 4 wheeled dolly and moved it to an open space to pressure wash it clean. We wheeled it across the deck to lift it into a spot, close to the rocky edge, positioning it with a full view of the open space just below our home. We pulled out the new water hose, hooked it up to the outdoor shower faucets and fill the newly cleaned tub with water. I could hardly wait to climb into the water and experience the little taste of heaven I KNEW I was going to feel. Just like the outdoor shower…but BETTER!

The moment I slid into the warm water and I felt the gently pressure of the fully filled tub, I felt calm. I felt calm and I felt safe..and relaxed! A light breeze came up and as it warmly blew past me, I knew this was going to be one of those maximum emotional moments I’ve enjoyed so often in my life. The music from my Bose was playing just over my shoulder as I slowly covered my body with water and lifted my feet to get the full experience! How is it possible that I feel so incredible?

I’ve spoken a number of times about how freakin awesome my life is! Not in a braggadocios kind of way but rather to acknowledge how I am blessed with an abundance of awesome. Right now as I lay in the water covering my body, with the sun shining and a gentle breeze…in the tub that’s been stored for years…I think I died.

Sorry, I won’t share my tub, but I hope you have a moment like that. I really think I may have opened an incredibly expensive can of worms today. Don’t get me wrong…that claw foot is going to provide me with a whole lot of awesomeness for the rest of summer, but…infinity pool with a floating chair and an iced beverage seems like a even awesome-er moment…and I think I might NEED that in my life.