I swim. I am a swimmer. A real, genuine swimmer. I don't swim every day, and I often go extended periods without swimming. I may be out of shape and I may be broken. But, regardless of any of this I am a swimmer. And, swimming is the one thing in the world that I know, with confidence that I am really good at. Regardless of the last time that I swam, I can swim endlessly. I'm not kidding. I can go for miles at a time. And I do. And I love it.
When I was pregnant I swam several times a week; at least a mile a pop. As I got bigger, the primary difference in my swimming ability was that my flip turns became wider and lower...I had to get around my belly - but I never slowed down. I swam until the day before Lulu was born and I had planned to swim the day she was born....but my plans changed. I was swimming past my due date.
What I find interesting about being a 'swimmer' is that it's sort of like being from Michigan (or so I am told): you can take a person out of Michigan but you can't take the Michigan out of the person. And so, with that: you can't take the swimmer out of me. In the water I am efficient. I know how to swim. Ms. Blair (r.i.p.) was my high school swim coach. She was an excellent teacher who taught me the mechanics of swimming and gave me a real love for it. I was never the biggest or strongest but she taught me how to extend and stretch and concentrate on form. As a result, I worked on those things. And I continue to do so. Every time I get in the pool I aim to extend further, stretch longer and make less of a splash. I try to be a quiet swimmer. And now, decades later, I am a fast and efficient swimmer. I am an elegant swimmer.
I went swimming today. And it felt good. It was the first time in over a month, but when I got in the water I was home. And I kicked ass.
The two photos above are brought to you by to two other etsy folk! They are lovely pieces that make me want to submerge....
The top photo is called "A Saturday in '73". It is a vintage photography art print (8x8) and is available on etsy. Coincidentally, Donna Geissler is from Michigan. Check out her very cool etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/donnageissler
The second photo is a 5x5" print taken with a lomo diana+ camera. ManicPixie is the artist behind the camera and she hails from Bath, England. Check out her etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/people/ManicPixie
The first painting is titled "Swimming pool Dive". It is an original painting, canvas on on wood. You can check out this painting and other cool Cathie Carlson's (MagicMarkingsArt) originals at her etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MagicMarkingsArt.
A special shout out to the three kind, responsive and talented etsy artists who allowed me to post their images! Please show your support to the kind ladies who support me by visiting their shops! Go on, get in....the water feels great.
2 comments:
Thanks for the shout out and for featuring my work with two awesome swimming pool images. Both my children grew up swimming - living near the beach it was a no-brainer to have them learn at an early age. How nice that the sport is something that gives you such joy.
Cathie
This is a lovely post. Some of my best memories in life were around some sort of body of water - swimming! This pool was like Disneyland to me. Thanks so much for including this vintage shot!
Donna.
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