Filter-Unfriendly. Hmphh.

Swimming season is here.  I can read the telltale signs.  For the past five days, I have been unable to locate a single clean towel in the house, though I have done many loads of laundry.  There is also a permanent trail of water mixed with grass that leads from our back door to the bathroom.  And my last clue is that in all of the laundry I've done, there were no actual clothes.  This means that my children have been wearing only their bathing suits.

The backyard swimming pool filter continues to taunt me.  I spent one entire hour last night fighting with it.  First, I opened the lid and water spewed out endlessly.  I pulled the old filter out and put the new one in, water still smacking me in the face, then tried impossibly to put the lid back on.  After a very long and trying time, the lid miraculously tightened back into place.  I picked up the filter to move it back to its spot, and the "engine" fell out the bottom of it.  I realized then that I had made an error when replacing the filter and this meant the lid would have to be taken back off.  I took a deep breath and lefty-lucy'd.  Fast-forward about thirty minutes and I've just finished retightening the lid.  By now, I am soaked from head to toe and my frustration level is off the charts.  It is hot and windy outside and I decide that I've done enough for the day. 

I head back toward the house and decide that kicking the empty ten-gallon bucket that is sitting next to the pool for no obvious reason is a good idea.  I did.  It wasn't.  I envisioned that when my foot hit the bucket, it would take off soaring through the air, along with my frustrations.  What actually happened was that my foot stopped at the bucket and much pain jolted up my leg, leaving my toes numb and my eyes watery.  The bucket was, unbeknownst to me, filled with water by my loving children so that they would have a place to rinse their feet before getting into the pool. 

I entered the back door and my family was lounging on the couches, watching television.  Mae was immediately upset at the sight of me and said, "Mom!  Why didn't you tell me you were swimming without me?!"  I explained that I was not swimming; I was simply trying to change the pool filter.  I then complained on and on about how the filter system had failed me.  When I finished pouring my heart out, Kenny explained to me that there are two covers that attach to each end of the filter, thus stopping the water flow and enabling me to change the filter without flooding myself.

Without even pulling my hair out with both hands or punching any walls, I calmly excused myself to the bathroom.  I showered without crying and put myself straight to bed. 

I think I'm okay now.