Process Essay

  Every year, about this time, comes the much anticipated and exciting job of cleaning out the pool so we can enjoy it for the short few months of summer here in Maine. I look forward to this process because I know that all of my hard work and diligence will be rewarded with the cool, sparkling water to enjoy on the hot summer days to follow. Cleaning the pool for the first time in spring is quite a process though, digging all of the necessary equipment out of storage, and the expense for the chemicals, then comes the three days of faithfully cleaning the traps and checking the chemical levels. To be truthful, by the second day, I usually am asking myself if all of this work is actually worth it.
  The first step of this process is always the hardest because it involves my husband.  I have to basically set up an appointment with him to haul the extremely heavy filter system out of its winter storage spot in the closet. I have attempted this process myself only once because it's no small feat. I actually got it onto the dolly, but I couldn't maneuver it over the first threshold of the spare bedroom. Anyway, after HE gets the filter out there and into place, it's my turn. I find all the hoses and my trusty screwdriver, and go to work. The hoses all fit nicely unless a screw or clamp has rusted over the winter, but that's not much of a problem. When everything is secure and to my liking the hose goes in and the fun part begins.
  The next step of the process is definitely the most labor intensive, especially since my husband did all the heavy lifting earlier. Flip the power switch, (that's the easy part) and be ready with the skimmer because all of the leaves are coming off the bottom.  I am still very excited about the process at this point because I haven't been man handling the skimmer and leaves for hours. Now it's time to put that flimsy piece of screen at the end of a pole and my muscles to work. I walk around the pool for hours with the skimmer head in the water until it's full, then flick the dead leaves off onto the lawn for the mower to take care of later. Skim and flick, skim and flick, for hours.  Usually, by about hour number three I have made a refreshing cocktail, and slowed down on the trips around the pool considerably. The majority of the winter laden leaves are on the lawn and I can stand at the intake for the filter and let the water do most of the work for me.
  The end is in now in sight, although maybe a little blurry, either due to lack of chemicals or the cocktails. All of the pieces are put together correctly and not leaking, and most of the leaves are dried up on the lawn. The only things left to do are to hook up Wanda the Whale, (the automatic floor vacuum) and dump the issued amounts of chemicals in the correct order into the water. I usually wait to do this until the next day so the sand and what few leaves that are left have fallen back to the bottom of the pool. Wanda does a great job, she travels along the bottom of the pool seeking out and eliminating anything in her path. The only thing left for me to do is check the skimmer basket periodically to remove any debris that might be blocking the water from getting to the filter. Day three is finished now, I just set the filter timer to run over night knowing that when I wake up all I have to do is collect a water sample for the pool store to process and all of the hard work will be rewarded.
  Although cleaning the pool in the spring time is a lot of hard work, the benefits definitely out way the toils. We entertain often pool side, and I feel very proud of my sparkling accomplishments even though nobody else understands what I had to go through to get to this point. My daughter and her friends spend countless hours either dipping their toes or lounging on floats to improve their summer tans. We all benefit from the cool, clean water of the pool in the summer, even my husband, when we enjoy our after hours dips.