Pool Season

I love pool season. When I was little, it meant long days, starting with early morning swim team and ending much, much later, at the pond in Ben Oaks, where I grew up. My parents would sit underneath a big willow tree (which is, sadly, no longer), drinking beer and hanging out with their friends. It was pretty great - for me and for them.

When I was teenager, I was the lifeguard there and I spent my days off laying out on the little strip of land that separates the pond from the Severn River - always on my stomach, trying to even out my tan. (Or, rather, "tan." I am pasty or pink, but never quite golden.)

As an adult, I miss Ben Oaks, but the Stoneleigh Pool - even though it's not next to the river - meets all of my summertime social needs. We log a lot of evening hours there in the summertime. It's a good time.

Since there's a very strict no-glass rule at the pool, summertime, for us, is all about plastic and cans. This year, that means lots of LBLL's (schlepped back from Keuka Lake), Leinenkugel grapefruit shandies (finally, this year, available in cans), and Union Craft Old Pro (how can you resist that can?).

I've also developed a recent obsession with the salsa and guacamole made by the people who work at our local Giant. They are so good - especially the salsa, which is very slightly spicy and just a little bit sweet. I eat an embarrassing amount of it when I'm home alone.

But that's what summer is all about, right? Eating salsa instead of dinner and drinking citrusy beers while your kid wears himself out messing around with friends in the pool.

Now, if school would just end, we'd really be in business.