I was lucky enough to grow up in a house with a backyard and a pool. To the side of the pool is a guesthouse with white stucco walls and a multicolored tile roof. In my earliest memories, the guesthouse had a bed where aunts and nannies sometimes slept.
As a child I cared only for its bathroom, where I kept my arsenal of pool toys in the shower stall. On summer days I would rush in, trailing water like a wet mop, and grab an armful of pool noodles. Or, if I had friends over, I’d load up my Super Soaker 2000.
Eventually we replaced the bed with a couch and TV. Most overnight visitors used the guest room in the main house, anyway. I was getting into my early teenage years then, when I began to look for my own space away from the house. Too young to drive, but too old to sit in the living room next to mom’s office, where I couldn’t blast my music or video games.
So I started spending time in the poolhouse. We called it that because it wasn’t really for guests anymore. It was just a hangout spot next to the pool. I hooked up my N64, Dreamcast, and PS2. I put up some posters and pushed the couch against the wall. I brought out my electric guitar and amplifier.
In high school it became the gathering place for my friends. We would text each other “PH?” on our flip phones, and a rotating cast would filter in throughout the day. Summers melted by this way, and the poolhouse became our second home. Sometimes we’d fall asleep while watching a movie and wander bleary-eyed into the morning light.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that we all gravitated there. Most kids didn’t have a truly separate space in their homes. Hanging out in someone’s room or garage just wasn’t the same. A parent could barge in at any moment. In the poolhouse, you could at least see them coming from across the backyard and hide the bong.
We grew up out there (but not too quickly). Girlfriends, jam sessions, LAN parties. Conquer the world, or just the next level. I remember getting called into work and leaving my friends there, only to find them exactly where I left them when I got back.
Now we’ve moved away, built careers, started families. The poolhouse has filled up with boxes and furniture. It stays locked most days. But whenever I come back into town, we make a point to clear off the couch and play another round of Super Smash Bros. For a little while, we’re 16 again.
