The First Swim of the Year
I really enjoy being in and around water. A labor of both health and love, Dad and his friends dug by hand a perfectly sized pool for the neighborhood kids to enjoy as we grew up. I’ve always lived close to the Pacific Ocean and enjoy watching the movement of waves. Snorkeling is probably my favorite sport.
It’s a good thing that I can handle pretty cool water temperatures since our current pool is not heated. There’s no denying it is cold when you first get wet. I’m of the school where you immerse yourself totally and quickly to get the shock over with.
I walk down the three steps onto the bottom of the shallow end of the pool and keep walking down the slope to the deep end. When gravity has to fight buoyancy, that’s when I up-end and dive towards the bottom. Once immersed, I shoot to the top, breath somewhat stopped short by the cold, and swim back over to the steps. Involuntary vocalizations usually follow.
And then I realize it doesn’t feel quite as cold and I dunk myself again and start enjoying what it feels like to be in water and moving around in it.
But it is pretty cold so after a few more splashes I climb the steps out of the pool and go sit in the sun to dry off and warm up. The worst is over, and it’s the unofficial start of summer. The pool is open for the season!
