One of the weirdest things about the house we currently live in is that there are no bathtubs. I guess the previous owners didn’t have any kids who liked splashing around or needed to soak in hot water after a long day of work, but it sure made me miss our giant tub at our first Indiana home. Maybe someday, we’ll update the bathrooms and put in a tub, but that is way down on our possible to-do list. That doesn’t ever stop Jack from thinking outside the box and figuring out a different solution. No tub? How about a hot tub?!
It really is amazing what kinds of things a person can find for free/low cost if they’re willing to put in the work. Jack had been perusing Facebook marketplace and like pianos, there’s always at least one up there for free. Obviously, there’s the risk that it won’t work, but does that deter Jack? No. He sees it as an opportunity to learn, a puzzle for him to figure out. So, he drove up to Indy, somehow scooted the massive hot tub onto the trailer, brought it home, where we shoved it onto our deck. Step one: complete.
While Jack worked on the internal components of the hot tub, the rest of us got to work beautifying it. As cool as a free hot tub is, it doesn’t mean I want to sit in a jacuzzi that looks like I got it out of the dumpster.
I originally chose a gray paint for the hot tub, trying to match the color of the brick on our house. It turned out to be way too blue and me-no-likey blue paint when it’s supposed to be gray, so we regrouped, and painted it a ruddy brown that I ended up using on the garage doors and exterior doors.
Not that we exactly waited for the hot tub to be completed before we started using it. We scrubbed out the tub, filled it up, and were pleased that Jack got everything working. Jets, bubbles, lights…party time!
We’ve sat in the hot tub while it’s snowing, in a surprise rainstorm, after swimming in the pond, in the dark, with pina coladas, listening to music, with cousins and friends. The jacuzzi has become an appreciated amenity to people who come to visit.
Other than buying a nice cover for the hot tub, it’s been a very inexpensive investment for us that has been used at least weekly since Jack brought it home. If we had to be without a tub in the house, having a tub big enough for everyone right outside the door is definitely the next (maybe even better than) best thing.
