Day Five - Awake Yet?

In the morning I usually wake up a few hours beofre the alarm starts blasting. My bladder wants to burst first. I get up, visit the li'l boys room, take my morning pharmaceuticals and head to bed for another hour. This morning was not different, until the hour came and went, I was snoring like a puppy after lunch. The alarm shattered my dreams, it was crazy trying to hit that little button, it kept moving all over the place. Being a little stiff and in view of the spinning room I closed my eyes for a second, wham, it was another hour +. What happened?

Dad asked me to take some pictures of he & Ginny before our 2pm swim trip. It was fun seeing them smile next to our creative Christmas tree. You've gotta see this thing, it's a permanent resident of our living room. We assembled it out of garage & attic type spare parts a few years ago and it has stayed in the living room ever since.


When we arrived at the pool I was encouraged to see the lot only 1/2 full of vehicles. We got to park close to the entrance, less walking, a treat. No Super Models trading keys, just regular old people. Hmmm, has my perspective changed or are these different staff members? I dunno.






I was delighted to discover that the far lane was waiting just for me. I was distracted by the sight of the empty lane and as I descended down the stairs, my feet slipped and whoops, I made a less than perfect kapow into the water. I coasted along the bottom until my excess fat pulled me to the surface. As I was struggling to regain my balance Brooke, the lifeguard, chuckled and asked me if I had done that on purpose. I thought about making up a story but out I blurted "Nope, I slipped on the stairs." Quickly turning and heading to my desired lane for splashing fun.





After about 10 minutes the pool started filling up and Dad joined me in the lane. Now it was my turn to move faster, I got to pass HIM a few times. It was not a fair comparison because I was bobbing and jumping while he did water walking, which is slower. Who cares, it felt great to be in the water, winning, and splashing again!

A few minutes later I was almost spent and I started asking people what time we had arrived. To my dismay we had only been in the water for 20 minutes. Ughhh, I was ready to get out. Nope! I refused to give up. I kept moving in spite of my energy level. After a few more minutes I got my second wind and I was able to finish the hour without too much unexpected agony.

There were two girls, sisters, about ages 3 & 4 getting lessons. I lost myself in their excitement. Nothing seemed to scare them as they kicked and coughed. Their smiles were amazing. I was reminded of my early days in the pool. My Mom called me a fish because I loved being in the water. If I could not get to a swimming area, I just took 3 or 4 baths a day.

When Mom enrolled me in swimming lessons life got really fun. Evans Pool, at Greenlake, in Seattle. I advanced through the first few levels of lessons fast. I didn't even think of them as lessons I was having so much fun. The teachers were showing me stuff I had never thought of so it was great.