Pat Ozmet, Jr. Summer is upon us. There are several things to mark it at our house. First the grass has to be cut again. Grass looks better green, but I don’t look forward to the weekly chore of cutting, and trimming the lawn.

Then there is the matter of the heat. I put it off for a little while but I finally gave up and turned the air-conditioner on. The third sign of summer at our house is the swimming pool. Now if you don’t have one don’t get all jealous of those of us who do. I did not go out and buy a swimming pool on purpose. It came with the house we decided to buy.

It was a kind of fringe benefit or so the salesperson told us. Now I tend to think of it more as an “attached liability.” The water that was sparkling blue last summer is now a stagnant green.

It is an eye sore in the daylight, at night it’s a noisy nuisance because of at least 3,572 frogs that have appeared from nowhere. Where do frogs come from anyway? I don’t recall ordering them.

The frogs are really the reason I turned on the air, because with the windows open and the air off no one could sleep with all those frogs serenading each other. I have a new understanding of “froggy went a courting.” A swimming pool is a good illustration of people’s lives. As long as we pay attention and keep everything in balance we can sparkle and be an asset to those around us.

However if we stop attending to the necessary upkeep and maintenance we can get to be a mess in a hurry. God created us as physical, mental and spiritual beings. If we let ourselves go in any of those areas we start to suffer and stagnate. Stay balanced. Eat right, and exercise, your body.

Read the Good Book to keep your mind right and join one of God’s Spiritual Health clubs and I’ll see you there, in Church.