Object Lessons: Pool Hammock
The pool float is made of thick cheap plastic. The summer we bought our first house, I got tired of standing around in the lap lanes of our community pool and calling it “swimming.”
I wanted to relax in the pool. To lose myself on the water the same way I did in my porch recliner. Kicked back. Eyes to the sky. Repose.
I never would have considered this particular pool float if I hadn’t seen the word “hammock” in the title. I’d gotten used to hammocking between two trees in one of those little portable beanpod cocoon things that were so popular. That kind of lying back and reading meant a particular type of relaxation for me. But hammocking in the pool? I’d never even considered that.
It was $13 and felt like it was worth a chance. I was excited that I would be IN the water while using it. One thing I hated about most pool floats was drifting along with barely an ankle reaching far enough to enjoy the cooling of the water on my skin.
Six years on, it’s become a constant companion at the pool. I can have the worst day at work, then grab this pool hammock and head for the water. Its cheerful stripes and scratchy netting start helping me unwind before I even make it through the pool gate.
As soon as I lie back, its magic kicks in. My mind may spin for a few moments. But with the sun on my face, my head pillowed on the firm plastic, and the water rocking me gently, it’s only a matter of minutes until my worries drift away.
There’s no element of self-improvement. No productivity hack. Nothing to do. The pool float doesn’t care if I’ve processed my feelings about that frustrating meeting or if I marked off everything on my list for the day. It simply holds me suspended — half in the water, half in the sun.
I do not have to breathe a specific way, doggedly watch my thoughts drift past like clouds, or become the kind of woman who can survive her day job without cursing or overreacting.
The pool hammock gets to the body first. It offers a simple suggestion: float.
Cool down.
Look up.
Let the water move first.
Sometimes a tool doesn’t have to do anything.
The most useful objects can be those that allow us to undo.
Object: Pool Hammock
Used For: Drifting away
Lesson: Peace is easier when the body gets there first.
