Swimmer in training

Marcus Garvey Park Pool ducks
Originally uploaded by Zanalee
Every summer the public park across the street from me has adult lap pol swimming in the evening. I've been going on and off just about every summer for the last two or three years usually at the prompting of good friend of mine who lives a few minutes away as well.

Yesterday, a guy who works there at the park pool, was kind enough to give me my first real swimming lesson ever. He taught me just how my arms and hands should go over my head, a little bit about how to breath and also how to kick my legs. These are things that I've gathered in snatches over the years from several other people, friends and family but never really understood until now.

Until now, I've only done a clever imitation of swimming. But now that I understand the form better, I can feel just how much of a work out it really is. Your entire body has to be in motion and in coordination. There's a lot of balance to it. I really like it. Plus which, I sleep so well after a swim, it's wonderful. It's like an instant sedative. I'm a light sleeper and sometimes it takes me a while to get there but after a swim, I usually hit the pillow and barely move until the morning.

It's been a while, kind of...

I think my last entry was on how I learned the true meaning of my name on my birthday. I am now sitting at a reception desk where I work weighing the pros and cons of attending an honors ceremony by catching a ride with someone I despise to a place I hate to go. Not much has changed.

Oh wait that's not quite true. I've gained more weight, my knees crack more and my back pretty much hurts all the time if I'm not careful. I've noticed that all the chiropractors at the practice I go once a week are all male an all white. This is not something that would have occurred to me about 15 years ago. Now it's starting to make me wonder. I can't buy food anywhere anymore without wondering about the conditions of the place, what the benefits are like and whether that bored and depressed look on the cashier's face is that way for many of the same reasons mine is often. I wonder if they're exhausted from fake smiling all day and pretending to be civil to supervisors, they'd just as soon see dropped off of a tall building. I wonder if their lives are treadmill like and what they do to temporarily relieve that each day. I guess for me, photography is a very big part of what I do to escape from the banal routine. Writing used to be this for me but hasn't been for quite some time. I think photography and nature may two of the last few places I can go to breath anymore.  Everybody's got their something and that is mine. And if it wasn't for the work of others I don't know if I would feel the same. Creativity is fed by creativity so if you're not inspired, neither am I. Thank God for nature.

So let's see, where does that leave me? It's scorching hot today, about to get worse tomorrow and I'll be upstate with Fran this weekend, maybe taking in the new Woody Allen film and if it's not too hot maybe a game of catch on the Ramapo High Football field. I like playing catch with Francis. It's very calming and reminds me of when I was girl playing baseball with my dad and brother in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. We talk, we laugh, we get to just enjoy being outside. Yeah, I'm an expert at escaping and relaxing. But regardless, there are some very practical, some very urgent matters that are starting to catch up with me. If I can tackle even one of those this summer, I would feel pretty triumphant.