You’re definitely not underusing it. What you described is almost exactly how ours went.
First summer felt like we were on vacation at home. Random after-dinner swims, morning dips, friends over constantly. Second year it normalized. Now it’s mostly weekends, heat waves, or when we intentionally plan something around it.
What changed for us wasn’t just excitement fading, it was routine. Once the pool becomes part of daily life instead of a novelty, you stop forcing reasons to jump in. That said, I’ve noticed we use it way more when it’s “ready” without effort. If the temp is comfortable and the water looks clear and calm, people hop in spontaneously. If filter pressure is creeping up a few psi or the water has that slightly dull look after a higher bather load weekend, even if chemistry is technically fine, nobody feels drawn to it.
We also shifted how we think about “using” it. Some weeks we barely swim, but we’re outside almost every evening. Sitting by the water, low pump speed humming, lights on at night. It still changes how we use the backyard even if we’re not actually swimming laps.
So yeah, the daily use phase fades. But the value kind of settles into something steadier. It becomes less about how many times you’re in it and more about how often it makes you step outside instead of staying in. That still counts in my book.
