Saturdays Are So Much Better with a Pool

By Sherwoods
We still don't have our car.  It has been in the country longer than we have been, but it's still not registered, which has been pretty frustrating.  I had to hire a driver, twice for one mail day, to pick up all of the packages that I've been mailing since we've gotten here.  Every time I have to go somewhere I have to arrange some sort of ride.  We haven't gone anywhere as a family other than church.
Normally this would be really lame on Saturdays because we like to go adventuring on Saturdays.  Well, at least when it's cooler we like to go on adventures.  When it's hot, we just like to swim.  It's hard enough to get everyone to hike when it's beautiful outside, but making everyone hike when it's blistering is an idea not even I want to consider.
But now that we have a pool, not having a car makes no difference.  It's not like we'd be going anywhere on Saturday anyway when it's 104 degrees outside.  I can't think of anything I want to do at that temperature other than sit around in a pool.  And when it's a pool that is in my backyard with only my family in it?  Even better.
This Saturday was a busy Saturday.  Brandon and I finally assembled all of the IKEA beds that have been in pieces leaned up against the bedroom walls.  Our house has a couple of grassy patches outside the wall that hadn't been touched since we moved in four weeks ago, so Brandon cleaned that up.  The children tidied up the entire house.  I took Eleanor to a birthday party.  Usually all of these things would mean that we wouldn't have time to go somewhere fun.
But since we have a pool, we were able to eat dinner by the pool, swim, and still have time for a movie.  When were in Dushanbe, we would spend at least an hour and a half collecting things, driving, parking, walking, sunscreening, and then doing the reverse (well, except for the sunscreen) after we were done.  It really didn't make sense to swim at all in the afternoon.  But here it was as easy as putting on a swimsuit, walking outside, and jumping in the pool.  We don't even have to put on sunscreen as the pool is shaded in the late afternoon.
Eventually the weather will cool down and we will have to find something else to do with our time.  I've heard that Tashkent has some interesting museums and there is even a small trampoline park.  I'm sure we'll enjoy seeing and doing lots of fun things.  But until then, I'm perfectly happy to stay home and enjoy my pool.