The pool is closed for the season. The last days are always bitter-sweet. On the one hand, I’m glad it’s over. It can be a frustrating job. On the other, I am going to miss my guards and my pool rats. Some are off to college, and I will only see them here and there over the next few years. It’s fun to watch them grow. I love watching the kids learn to swim. At the beginning of the year, a few wouldn’t leave the three-foot area and, by the end of the season, they were going off the diving board.

Sunday, I went grocery shopping. I didn’t want to, but it was either that or starve for the next wee...