Slow Living: Making the Most with What You Already Have

Sometimes simple things can be profound.

Take my pool, for example. Last week, we had some of the hottest weather - for an extended period - in years. It was hot. 

It was hotter than hot. The average was about 105 degrees for ten days in a row. It wasn't pleasant.

What was pleasant was my pool. 

Here in Northern California, a good 15% of homes have pools. But, having a pool - like any good thing - gets old.

Not un-liked, just old because it's there. It's familiar. 

And it's easy to forget the significance of a pool ... until you need one.

Like, really need one.

Last week, good old "being happy with what you have" slapped me in the face and stuck its' tongue out at me. It reminded me that having a pool - despite the extra costs during the year - is worth it.

Want to know how often I regularly go in the pool on any given summer anymore? Maybe once. Maybe.

All last week though, I went in the pool every day. 

I don't swim much anymore in part because my boys are older (and aren't swimming at all), in part because the novelty wears off, and in part because as I age, getting in and out of a swimsuit isn't as fun as it used to be.

A little glance at the extra fat in areas I didn't use to hold fat is slightly discouraging.

But last week, oh yes, last week was different. 

Instead of ignoring my beautiful pool, I went in it. I used the very thing that originally sold me on the house 11 years ago! I walked right into that pool on day one of our heat wave and kept going in every day of that week. 

Here's what I learned from my extracurricular activity: I'm missing out and it's my own fault.

All I could think about while I was floating around the pool on my back was, "Why haven't I been using this thing? Look how wonderful it is."

Then I did something else I don't normally do. I got my hair wet. 

I dunked my hair into that bath of cool water, swam under the surface and across the pool like I used to as a little girl. 

I didn't worry once that chlorine was now in my hair, or that I had to do my hair, or that my hair wasn't going to be the way I wanted it for the rest of the day. I didn't care. 

And it felt wonderful.

Then, I did another thing: I got a pair of my boys' goggles, slipped them on, and surveyed the water from underneath the surface.

As I pulled myself under the water, I looked at the glimmering sides of the pool and the way the sun reflected and refracted from below the surface of the water.

I moved to the darker side of the pool and noticed the temperature change.

These amazing things were all here and have been here the whole time and I'd been ignoring them.

I picked up a loose screw (probably from our pool sweep) and made a note to tell my pool person about it (a.k.a. my husband.)

It was magical. 

Being under the water, with goggles, with my hair wet was one of the simplest and most fun things I had done in years.

I felt young again. 

And then I wondered, Why do I stop doing the things I love? Why do I complicate my life by giving away that option of fun-filled youthful activity as if I wasn't allowed to do them anymore because of my age? 

I'm only hurting myself when I do that.

I miss out on the little, spectacular, golden moments of my life because I stop appreciating the small things for what they are.

There's nothing like hopping into a pool when it's hot. (It's even better if it's your own pool you've been neglecting.)

There's nothing like diving into cool water and getting your hair wet. 

And if you really want to feel like a child again, wear goggles while you're toodling about the water.

Slow Living is about living a simple life. But that simple life is about appreciation for what we already have, right now, without having to go out and buy something, change something, or upgrade to something different.

So, how can we add more of this to our lives? How can we remember to remember that what we already have is a treasure trove of delight?

We have to look at everything with different eyes. With a vision for appreciation.

We also need to remind ourselves to go back to doing things we love.

That expensive bottle of wine you've been holding onto for "just the right time?" Yeah, that time is now. Go open that baby and make a nice meal with your significant other - and make it happen tonight.

(And use that fine China you only use "for special occasions" while you're at it.)

Those roses that sit on the side of your house? Go smell them. No one's going to smell them for you.

Use that espresso machine every day .. the one you paid good money for. 

Take classes on what you love doing from dancing to baking to woodworking. Remind yourself what you love to do and go do it.

Sometimes, we have to relearn how to see things from a youthful perspective too. To let our hearts tell us what we love to do. And when we do, we find we have good things in our lives waiting for us to grab hold of again.

For me, it meant going swimming once more.

So, don't be like me and forget about your backyard pool. Instead, get in there, get your hair wet, wear the goggles... and enjoy every bit of it.