15 minutes on what planet?

Last year, my grandmother bought a pool for the boys. It's a nice 15 foot easy-set-up pool. We didn't set it up last year, however, because you need a relatively level spot. We started preparing an area but it got cold and we never got the thing finished. So all winter, hubby took the ash from the coal stove and dumped it on our pool location. A winter's worth of ashes made a nice foundation.

We got out there last night and started raking around the ashes and the sand my parents added to it and got the spot nice and level. Then hubby says, "Let's get the pool." I looked at the clock. It was 20 'til 9. He said, "The box says it's ready for water in 15 minutes." So I relented.

It was already beginning to get dark, so we quickly spread out the tarp that goes under the pool, then unrolled the pool itself. I promise you it took at least 15 minutes just to straighten out the pool and get it exactly where we wanted it, plus get all the wrinkles out of the bottom. Then we inflated the top ring. Time for water, right? Wrong. We had to hook up the filter first.

By this time it was dark and we had to go over by the motion sensor light to read the instructions. Hubby got the filter hooked up and at last we were ready to add water. We put in enough to keep the thing from blowing away and then we quit. Time? 9:45 p.m. That's right, an entire hour, and the thing still isn't ready for swimming.

I'd like to borrow the watch they used to time their 15 minutes. Just think of the possibilities: I could take a 15 minute nap and wake up totally refreshed. I could get my grocery shopping done in 15 minutes. I could take a 15 minute break from the kids. Hubby and I could spend 15 minutes of quality time together. This thing could be invaluable. Maybe I'll contact the company and see if it's for sale. They'll probably only put me on hold for 15 minutes.