into the blue

I finally returned to my community pool, after an unfortunately long absence. No wonder I never used my gym membership (finally quit), the tiny, neglected pools are disgusting compared to the clean, blue waters of my deep community center pool! Tall, bright windows on 2 walls, the sunset bringing refracted light into the waters as I reach and pull, kick and flip. Truly there is nothing more cathartic to me than swimming. Even with my super awesome new shoes I can't drag myself out to run on the pavement. But I am planning a super awesome sunny hike for Sunday (if the weather man is correct, and the rains give us a break!)

As I was searching for swimming images for this post, I naturally had to click on the one above. It brought me to an article about lap swim etiquette, which usually is a real bother. Thursday nights at my pool are evidently, one of the worst nights for lap swimmers. Swim Lessons take over one lane, 2 separate aquarobic classes take over 2-3 lanes, leaving us with 2 lanes. Which means the slow paced people have to share with the kick boarders, and the fast speedo dudes have to pace with the medium swimmers. One guy even busted out his kickboard in the fast lane! I gracefully took my kickboard over to the slow lane, and returned when finished with the set.

However, since it has been so long since I hit the pool, I was euphoric just to be there. Nothing could bring me down while floating around, care and gravity free.

After every lap swim, I take off my goggles, remove my swim cap, and dolphin dive down the lane for a few laps. Fortunately, the crowd had cleared out by the time I was ready to go, so I didn't disturb anyone with my childlike nonsense. In the deep end, I flip a few times, bob from the pool floor up to the top with enthusiasm. I feel my hair float and relish the blind sensations of underwater gracefulness. Underwater I am a ballerina, a world-class gymnast, an enchanted mermaid. When I leave the pool, I am a new woman.


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