Swimming

I just got back from the pool.  I would have swam longer, but I could feel the sun turning me more layers of darkness.  I've gone so many years without wearing sunscreen, and even now, I almost always forget to apply it.  I wear a floppy hat everywhere, but still a girl at work joked I could blend in with her Mexican kids.  Oh how I know that this is not good!

Like so many things, I discovered a love for swimming later in life.  I went to a college that insisted on a swim test to graduate, because many of the "poor Appalachian kids" had never seen water hid in between those beautiful mountains.  I also heard that many of the African students would jump in not realizing the depths of the water- never experiencing a pool.  I decided to take the swim class and our instructor led us out into the water holding hands and singing Kumbya.  I thought it was hilarious. 

I was always so uncomfortable and self conscious in a swimsuit, and I remember jumping into the pool only to have my top come flying off in that same swim class.  I was mortified.  I was an okay swimmer, but I was always hiding and trying to not be seen.  Even as a child I remember swimming in a pool and a boy asking me, "Why are you swimming with your tshirt on?" I was so incredibly self conscious. 

I fell in love with swimming in Maine.  I suppose Maine is a totally different world than say L.A., and I lost most all my self consciousness because the beauty and fun of it were too enormous for me.  I loved the strength I found in swimming to rocks to rest and relax, and I enjoyed swimming across a pond to rest on a deck.  It thrilled me to look out upon the green trees, study the clouds, hear the birds, and swim with all my strength.  I slept hard and well, and I didn't shower as much...  I also breathed better and felt stronger.  And over time, something happened to all that self consciousness.  I didn't care who saw me or what they thought- I loved swimming and I didn't give a rip! I was strong and enjoying myself! I swam in the ocean and skinny dipped one night all alone behind trees and invisible to others.  It is a fantastic feeling.  I swam in Maine's cleanest ponds and most pristine rivers, and I swam for exercise, mental health, stress reduction, and because I found it refreshing and fun. 

Now I am in Arizona and have a pool right behind my apartment and I'm still swimming.  I swim laps now in a chlorine pool while I look up at palm trees and a blinding sun, but I still get a bit of nature and I'm getting stronger and feeling great.  My favorite time to swim is when no one is there, but not because I'm self conscious- I enjoy having the space to not bump into people.  I like my morning swims best of all.  It feels like the perfect start to a day.  As I think about "good days" I would definitely put swimming, hiking, biking, or a walk in it.  Being in nature, even a small amount, changes my entire perspective and attitude.