One of the best parts about being an adult is being able to make your childhood dreams come true.
That’s exactly what Micky Thornton of Tennessee has done.
Like most children, Thornton had dreams of one day growing up and having his own backyard pool. The only difference with his childhood dream was how grand he dreamt that pool would be.
“To start with, I probably had the idea when I was 9 or 10 years old,” Thornton told WREG-TV. “I wanted [ the pool] large in the deep end but large and deep enough you could swim around it and not feel like you are trapped in a little box.”
Fast forward to 1993. At 39 years-old, Thornton began working on his dream pool.
Thornton’s only restriction was that the pool couldn’t be right next to the house, per his wife’s request. At first, Thornton was worried that the structure wouldn’t hold up in the spot that his wife designated for construction.
“If you’ve seen my house I have pavement everywhere,” said Thornton’s wife, Jane. “And he wanted to put it right next to that. I told him he had to move it out some. He told me ‘But it’s all pasture and it runs downhill,’ and I said, ‘You’re smart enough, you can figure it out.'”
And figuring it out is just what he did.
Thornton started the construction with the initial hole which was 20 feet deep and lined with a polyethylene mat. Even that start was impressive for a pool, but years later he began to work on it even more. He expanded it into the backyard oasis that it is today beginning in 2013.
All in all, the dream pool is made up of 40,000 pounds of steel rebar, rock-lined waterfalls, sprayers, a hot tub, rope swing, and an estimated half a million gallons of water.
While the pool was intended to be enjoyed by the Thornton family, it’s since expanded into a community affair.
Through their Facebook page, the Thorntons rent out the backyard oasis at a reasonable rate for a variety of groups and occasions ranging from kids birthday parties to weddings.
They even once hosted the Japanese National baseball team.
“They called and asked if we could have them over for an afternoon,” Jane recalled. “I thought sure, I thought there are nine guys on the field, probably a total of 25 people. Wrong. There was 50.”
Even churches organize trips to the Thornton’s oasis for baptisms. In fact, there have been so many baptisms in their pool that Micky regrets not keeping track of them. He estimates that there must have been at least 400!
Regardless of what brings someone to Thornton’s childhood dream pool, there’s no doubt that they’ll be amazed. Just take a look for yourself by watching the video below!
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