Lifting Leaves

It is interesting to find myself enjoying lifting leaves out of my pool. Who knew that the act of taking a net on a pole, pushing it into the water and skimming leaves would be so relaxing. If I were twenty, I probably would hate it. But at this age, the moments are peaceful.

There is an art to it in case you didn't know. And I am not sure I have yet perfected it. You see, when you have leaves falling in your pool, most of the time they lie on the surface just floating and circling the pool as the filter runs until they reach the skimmer. That is usually the best time to get them out. I hold the net just right on the surface top and allow the leaves to float in as I walk around the pool. Every now and then, I empty the net. In the beginning, I would empty to one spot on the deck and then ultimately trash can them but now I just shake them on the grass. Sooner or later, the lawn mower will pick them up along with all the others that didn't make it to the pool. 

When times passes and the leaves have found their way to the bottom, it then takes a new type of finesse to retrieve the leaves. The former owners left us some old nets, poles, brushes, etc but when I took "pool school", the teacher showed me his fancy beveled net. So with this new net and a little patience, you can coerce the leaves to dance off the bottom and then you circle back and scoop them up. It takes time dependent on amount of leaves. 

Bottom line, I am not saying it is going to always be relaxing but for now I am not dealing with diagnosis codes, customer issues, rules and regulations, or having to think about right dose, right time, right patient, right site, right drug. The stressful thoughts are gone for now allowing me to focus on just removing the leaves on top quickly or the ones that have managed to dive deeper. 

What am I learning? Maybe nothing more than how to keep the pool clean but I think there is more to it if you dive deeper. The easy messes in life can quickly be scooped up and taken away. I don't even have to tidy them up in a neat little can. I can just lift and let go. The harder issues in life may take some diving. Some dancing. Some finesse to scoop out but they too can just be tossed over the edge into the grass for a later mowing. With both, there is an action to be done. 

If I never remove the leaves, yes the filter might take care of some but soon there would not be clear clean water to relax by. 

Hope you find your moment.