Swimming Pools - So Fun, So Troublesome

Like boats and RVs, I think that swimming pools are a so-called luxury item that are far better in theory than in reality. Whenever we've looked at buying another house, my main interest (beyond specific geographic location) are one-level structures with no pool. The rest of it is somewhat negotiable to me.

Pool owners generally entertain frequently. I wonder, did they like entertaining and chose to purchase a house with a pool for that reason? Or do people sniff out invitations to come use their pool so they are somewhat forced to entertain often?

I like entertaining, but I'd be a nervous wreck if I owned a pool. I like being in the water and I'd probably swim nearly year-round, but I see it as a huge liability. All it takes is one guest to crack their head, one kid to drown, one accident of any kind to cause your insurance premiums to increase. Or worse, to cause your insurance company to drop your coverage. I'm not even going to cover the hassle (or expense) of maintenance. They just seem like a huge pain.

My son can't swim yet, but he sure does love being in the water. The other day, I tossed some pool floats in the car for some reason and he took that to mean that we were going swimming at Grandma & Grandpa's house. He flipped out when he realized that we weren't going swimming after all.

I told my parents about his meltdown and they said I should come over "anytime" to go swimming. This is weird to me because I'm not a user. If I show up with my kiddo to go swimming, we're basically using my parents and I'm not okay with that. Being invited is one thing. Inviting yourself is, in my mind, very rude - even if they say to do so.

My parents have a great pool. Actually, they have three; two smaller and one that is enormous. Before anyone wonders why I've never invited them to swim, please understand that it's not my pool. Also, their association is incredibly uptight about how many guests can be at the pool at one time. A maximum of four people from any one residence are allowed in at any one time. Yes, they have a guard who checks. I guess if you have a few kids and live at this complex, someone will have to sit outside the fence and stare with envy!

I gripe all Summer about how hot it is where we live. I was looking at above-ground pools the other day. . .thinking of the possibilities. However, my husband is absolutely dead-set against above-ground pools. To his way of thinking, we might as well stick a rusting Ford pickup on blocks in our front yard if we're going to put an above-ground pool in our backyard. I'm not in agreement and I campaigned hard for one of these dang pools, but he ultimately won.

So where does this leave me? Since I won't have a regular pool and my husband won't have an above-ground pool, I only have a few options. 1) I can rudely show up to swim at my parents house, 2) I can let the kiddo splash in his baby pool while I sweat to death on the grass, or 3) I can just shut my pie-hole & stay indoors since our AC works great. Options 2 and 3 seem to be winning out.

What would you do? Am I missing an obvious solution? Any suggestions?