So Much Buzz!

(June 11, 2014) Last night after teaching class at Hope & Home, I went back to the pool and painted with Vanessa, Michael and Brooke until 10pm; after spending over 10 hours at the pool today, I am so tired; however, the buzz in the community about the reopening in two weeks is keeping me energized! Yesterday, so many people came through the parking lot of the pool to get a peek at what we are up to behind the privacy fencing. They see cars in the parking lot; they see the entrance gate slightly open; they hear the hammering, the weed eating, the power tools, and they just have to know, "Is the pool opening?!" I've been happy to drop my paintbrush or powerwasher to go meet them and give them the answer they are hoping to hear, which is, "Yes! The pool is opening this summer!" Through the process of getting Village 7 Swim Club back open, I have met people who were previously members who have been waiting for the pool to reopen since it closed in 2011. I've met people driving through the parking lot just showing their children where they learned to swim when they were kids. I've met grandparents whose kids swam in this pool and who want their grandchildren to swim here, too. I've met people who have lived in the Springs for many years and never knew the pool existed, but who are elated to discover it. I've had teenagers in the neighborhood show up to work; people I've never met on facebook volunteering to help; contractors who have gone the extra mile completing repairs in order to get utilities turned back on (you can't imagine the ordeal!).

The next two weeks will be a time of critical repairs to the pump room and the physical pool itself. I'm waiting on bids from Front Range Aquatech on as well as from Blue Dolphin Pools. The company who can get the job done by June 21 wins.

One thing the buzz has made more evident than ever though is this: Village 7 Swim Club is more than just a neighborhood pool; it's a gathering place that evokes joy, hope, warmth, dreams, and memories for generations in this community.