Water and me
At first, it didn't seem like water and I were going to be friends. I mean, of course, water in quantities large enough to submerse myself in. I do get that we're made of mostly water, that it's essential for life, and so forth. But when I was growing up, I spent season after season failing to advance out of the beginner's level swim classes. I can visualize myself standing at the edge of the pool in my swim suit and (gack!) cap, lined up with the other students in my class. That last season I was at least a foot taller than the rest of them.
But I finally passed the test that would allow me to graduate from the Beginner's level. I don't remember how old I was, but I'm pretty sure I was a teenager. What I do remember is that during that long swim I had the distinct sensation, "I might actually die right now!" But at least I finally passed, dang it, and that was the end of swim lessons.
I first tried water aerobics in 1999. I realized at first that I *could* enjoy it. Not as tiring as other kinds of exercise. And if I was doing it wrong, other people in the class couldn't see. I had to be sure to get to class early, because the only spot that really worked for me was in the deeper water, close to a wall. Facing a wall helped me tune out the people around me, and gave me a focal point to keep me from drifting all over the pool.
And I actually stuck with it long enough for it to become a habit. One I knew all the moves and really didn't need to think about what I was doing, some pretty cool things started to happen.
First, I discovered that doing some fast water aerobics was great stress relief. That was especially important when we were having a rough time with Son in Ohio's kindergarten. It was at the end of that school year that we started the three years of homeschooling, but in the months before we finally made that decision, I'm sure you can imagine there was plenty of stress.
Also, I discovered that while my body was occupied with a familiar routine, my brain was free to work on other things. I could get a lot of good thinking done during water aerobics--sometimes creative stuff, but sometimes it just gave me time to plan and remember the things I needed to do in the coming days. It was the first time in my life that I had actually been able to make physical activity a *habit*--even one I looked forward to and missed if I couldn't go.
Classes were only on certain evenings, though, and one particular quarter, when I was teaching almost every night of the week (thanks to the Bush economy I had to), the habit got broken. For a long time I tried to get back into my regular routine, but it never quite happened. When I couldn't make it to class, I would just try to do the water aerobics moves on my own.
Last year I let my membership to that gym lapse, opting instead for a community center that the whole family could go to. In theory, that could have worked out just fine, but the reality is that it was hard to predict the kind of environment that would greet me during open swim hours. Sometimes the pool would be sparsely populated and I could just position myself near a wall, do my own thing, and get into that "zone" again. Other times the pool would be crowded or there would be a class going on. Or there would be conversations taking place that I really didn't want to listen to, but couldn't manage to tune out.
When I got my waterproof mp3 player, I was thrilled. I could set my own playlist, tune everyone else out, and just go. It was like having my own little portable Somebody Else's Problem Field. I hadn't quite gotten back to the level of activity I had years ago, but I was getting there. Until my allegedly waterproof mp3 player decided it was done being waterproof. I'm still making myself go to the gym, but the whole stress relief, focus, and creativity thing has been eluding me. As a new school year looms (Son in Ohio is starting HIGH SCHOOL for cryin' out loud!), I'm really wishing I could get some of that old water aerobics magic back.
Anyway, when I started clumsily hinting about donations to HEP yesterday, this is what was on my mind.
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