February 27, 2020 … Thursday
It’s sunny out today! And it was sunny yesterday, too! Woohoo! An anomaly for us here in the NW. It’ll get gross again soon enough – but wow … 2 days in a row! I should go buy a lottery ticket!
Yesterday, to help my knee (did not) and to escape the chaos of the upcoming election (ugh – 8+ months to go) and the impending doom/pandemic (Covid 19) … I went up island to the club to practice my mermaid skills. There’s nothing like a little water therapy to soothe the soul.
I still say the water in that pool is too cold … I’d stay longer but after 30 minutes I’m chilled … after 45 minutes I’m lucky to get out of the water and into the hot tub before I turn into a popsicle.
Anyway – as I was perfecting my stealthy Navy Seal (not a ripple) strokes, I got to thinking about well … swimming. And I thought about Dori (from the movie Finding Nemo) and that her “motto” was “just keep swimming”. So I did. And it got me thinking that no matter what is going on in our lives … health issues/political crises/work issues/day to day stuff that gets everyone down (oh, the “horribleness” of 1st world country issues – like wanting a piece of melty cheese for your cauliflower and you realize you just fed the last piece to the dog)… we need to JUST KEEP SWIMMING.
Going forward is always a good thing. But, there are days when – for whatever reasons – going forward is just TOO MUCH … so, tread water. Stay where you are and relax into it and just tread. Keep your head above water and let yourself be. You expend little effort, you can regroup, you survive whatever big or little issue.
At the end of my lap time I do a few lengths of the pool of lunges and leaps (as much as you can lunge and leap in 4 feet of water!) … I walk on my toes, I walk forward and backward and I hop … and I also tread water. I’m up to 10 minutes before I get bored and too cold and then it’s time for the hot tub and sauna.
But yesterday as I was treading water in that calm pool, feet from the side, positioned in the sunlight that was filtering through the glass roof onto the pool (oh, it was so nice and warm and sparkly!) … it got me thinking. And it got me thinking about Heidi.
I just read a story about her. She and her male companion live somewhere out east/near water and one lovely day they went off for a day of boating. It was a lovely day – until it wasn’t. They were having a lovely time – until they weren’t. Something happened and the boat started taking on water. They were miles from any land. They were unable to radio for help. There were no other boats near them. As the skies darkened, the boat capsized and Heidi and her companion were separated by the waves and darkness.
With nothing to cling to and not knowing in which direction land might be or if she would bump into her friend – Heidi did what she had to … to conserve energy, to regroup, to survive … she treaded water.
Fortunately, a fishing boat came by and saw her and plucked her out of the water … 11 HOURS LATER! Her companion was also rescued and, after being checked out – they were reunited.
True story.
So, when life throws an extra dose of whatever at you – tread those proverbial waters and be thankful you’re not actually wet.
Oh, and by the way … Heidi? She’s a German Shepherd.