bye bye pool

we have a love hate relationship with our backyard pool. we love it on those very very hot summer's days when boo gets to have a dip in it.the sound of his laughs and the joy on his face when he is in the pool make the year round maintenance worth it. on the other hand, we hate it because it requires so much work and maintenance throughout the year and the most we get to enjoy it is five days. for the rest of the three hundred of sixty days, the pool does nothing except for adding to our list of chores to do around the house. we were lucky last summer when we had few consecutive warm days and the water temperature is more bearable and boo could go in for a splash. 

with new pool regulations introduced, we had to register the pool and declare to the council that it meets all safety requirements. at its current state, it doesn't meet any safety requirements. not to the council's standard or our parental standard. with the pool in our backyard, i'm always worried that boo might wander out to the backyard without our knowledge.  knowing his curious nature and how much he loves playing by the pool. i dare not imagine the worst if he does wander out to the backyard by himself. that would be my worst nightmare. 

we had two options, put a fence around it or get rid of it altogether. after much discussion, we decided to get rid of if. we felt quite sad about our decision knowing how much boo enjoys playing by the pool, helping Jim cleans the pool by scooping up leaves with his little net but at the same time, it also gives me a great level of comfort knowing the biggest danger to boo's safety in the backyard is now gone. 

the tradies came around this morning and started work. pool water drained and parts of the pool hacked away with the jackhammer. the pool will be filled by Thursday with new lawn laid over it. i can't imagine how the backyard would look without the pool but i know with time, we will get used to the new lawn and in a couple of months we might even forget the pool used to be there. 

now, if we do get a heat wave this summer, we'll have to get a little fill up portable splash pool for boo. that would have to do.