One of the great joys of the EX 7 reunion for me was trying to help Valerie Valerie30 take the first steps in learning to swim. Fortunately Stacie Stac2 had been a swimming instructor and gave me some pointers. (Why wasn't SHE giving the lesson, I now wonder?!! lol) I - having never attempted to teach ANYBODY how to swim. She said "first they have to get over their fear of water." A thought which would never have occurred to me had she not said that. Because I was in the water as a tot. Had absolutely no fear of it. My mother told me a story long ago about the fact that because I had no fear of it, she felt she needed to teach me respect for it. (Not exactly her words.. but we lived right ON the lake and she was afraid I'd just happily toddle on down and walk right in.)) So one day while we're bouncing up and down happily in the lake, she just let me go instead of catching me up. And she said it was just awful seeing my little head go under and my curls splay out and my eyes opened wide in surprise and then of course she scooped me up immediately and I choked and sputtered and - learned to respect the water. I can only imagine how difficult that decision was for her to make, but to carry out! But it was a necessary and good lesson in my book. I never take the water for granted.. Just like I don't take my quit for granted. But my love of the water has never diminished for that loving lesson given.
Anyway, thanks to advice from Stacie, we did a few holding our breaths and putting our faces down in the water. And then Tony, her companion on the trip, and I talked about our skydiving experiences. Which made me think in terms of "tandem" and so I then got under her on the steps in the shallow end and just let her float, or at least relax on top of me, which I think gave her a sense of comfort and safety in the water. Ergo the tandem concept. I wasn't going to let her sink. Tony, actually, was also a great instructor. Why I was the one giving the lesson, I still don't know. But it sure was fun! And much laughter when I was trying to get her on top of me and grabbed a boob by mistake and said "I'm not trying to feel you up" and Tony said, "No that's MY job!" Hilarious and wonderful memories. (Hope you don't mind my sharing it Valerie.)
Just - passing it on, for no reason but to share the special moments in life.
jonimarie Have you tried swimming on your back? I find it so amazingly relaxing. Whether it's a backward breaststroke or a real backstroke, you can just relax in the water that way. And when you relax you're much more graceful. (I have bike chain lube. Thanks for the reminder to use it!)
YoungAtHeart ("hanky panky with the maple trees!!!!!) I can just picture you out there zipping up up those little Maple seedlings. Which if we DON'T, become bigger and harder to get out! And you've already increased your laps. Oh Yeah Baby! I'm just so darned happy you're back in the water. I know how nourishing that is. I got to experience it in Virginia Beach, (I SO miss swimming) but boy that surf was rough! Trounced me a couple of times going in and out.
Just waxing here. Take what you need and ignore the rest! lol
