“It’s not easy being green…having to spend each day the color of the leaves…it seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things, and people tend to pass you over because you are not standing out like...stars in the sky. But green's the color of spring and (it) can be cool and friendly like, and green can be big like a mountain, or important like a river or tall like a tree. When green is all there is to be, it could make you wonder why, but why wonder why wonder? I’m green and it will do fine. It's beautiful and I think it is what I want to be."
I grew up listening to those lyrics of the lovely ballad known as “Kermit’s Song” and when I hear them now, I am taken right back to that time, so long ago, when Kermit was singing about uniqueness and beauty and self-acceptance. What powerful words from that sweet little Muppet! All these years later, green is still my favorite color. At least it was…until this week!
This summer I have been splitting my time between two states, New York and Indiana. I arrived home in NY on Sunday after being gone for almost four weeks. You know that feeling you get when you are ‘home sweet home’ after being gone for awhile? Your bed feels so comfortable, your favorite slippers and robe are waiting for you, the chocolates you hid in a drawer are right where you left them, and there are some lovely cards tucked amidst the pile of bills and catalogues. I was even blessed to have a dear friend drop off a "welcome home" gift of flowers, chocolate, organic facial products and a very fragrant bar of soap. That’s the “glass is half-full” version of the story. The other side is filled with weeds which are begging to be pulled, flowering plants which have lost their color and luster, dust on the formerly shiny surfaces of the furniture and the color green in places where you do not want it to be!
In my case, I was greeted upon my homecoming by an extremely green pool! If you know even the most basic things about having a pool, you know that the color green is not ever coveted. It means things have gone terribly awry, the chemicals are way out of balance, and algae has started to grow! Good thing I didn’t have a set of “BEFORE” and “AFTER” photos, because I would not have been able to look at them without being brought to tears.
In the scheme of things, algae-ridden pool water is not the biggest of problems. I fully realize that. While I wish I had paid closer attention in my high school chemistry classes, I have enough knowledge to be able to remedy this green monster situation in my backyard. It involves lots of water testing, some algaecide, the proper balance of conditioner, shock, chlorine and salt and lots of patience and time.
When I left my home back in July for my trip to the mid-west, I truly believed I had “thought of everything”. I emptied the fridge of things that could turn into future science projects, I made arrangements for my lawn to be mowed and my mail to be collected, and I cleaned everything from top to bottom in an effort to be welcomed home upon my return by clean sheets, sparkling bathrooms and relatively dust-free tables. What I hadn’t thought of is that 4 weeks is a long time for pool water to go untested and unmaintained.
Things are starting to look better and brighter in the large body of water in my backyard. Even more important than that, I have learned a valuable lesson which is that most things of value require regular attention and maintenance. This applies to our homes, our cars, our relationships and ourselves. There is a reason why automobiles are programmed with reminders to let us know when it is time to bring them in for servicing. Have you ever missed one of those appointments? If so, your next visit to the dealership is going to take longer, cost more and you may be met with the finger wagging of your service technician who tells you that you should not have blown off your last recommended visit(s). The same principle applies to our annual physicals, routine mammograms, colonoscopies, etc. as well as to the people we care about who hope to hear from us on a regular basis.
I have the honor as a Health Coach of working with people who are trying to regain their health after feeling sick or having received a diagnosis. It is always harder for the people on the receiving end of my recommendations when they have to “start from scratch”, in other words - start to eat healthy foods for the first time in their life. I get the same resistance when I work with someone who used to have a life filled with nutritional foods and a regular exercise plan but they have “fallen off the wagon.” It is hard to recalibrate. I know, I have been there. All the stuff that we are not supposed to eat is cheaper, easier to prepare, more accessible, etc. etc. etc. Sitting on the couch watching Netflix is easier than working out. I get it and I am not arguing these points. However, we can all learn something from my “gone and forgotten” approach to my pool. If only I had hired someone to keep taking daily care of things like I had been doing before I left town, the whole “Patrick Family Murky Green Pond Fiasco of 2022” could have been completely avoided. Regular and routine attention and maintenance are much easier, cheaper and healthier in the long run. Many days and hundreds of dollars later, I have learned my lesson the hard way. As they say, I will likely not make this same mistake twice.
So while you may be humming along to the “It’s Not Easy Being Green” tune that is now in your head, let me tell you that it is so much harder getting UN-GREEN. Learn from my big mistake, and give the valuable things in your life the TLC that they so richly deserve. You will be as happy as Kermit the Frog if you do so!