(photo: metamerist)
Growing up, my sisters were the swimmers. They were on swim team for many years. I was on swim team for about a week. I swam when I had to, avoided it when I could. About 15 years ago my parents signed me up for swim lessons. It was cold and wet and early in the morning. I had a lot of stomach aches that summer. This past summer, as part of my athletic revolution, I signed up for swim lessons on my own accord. I had always been aware of how slow I swam and how difficult I found it, but I never realized how many little things I was doing wrong. What a difference a few little tweaks can make!
Over the past week I've been alternating between hours on end spent in a windowless room practicing CPR on creepy mannequins and taunting hypothermia while testing the limits of my lung capacity in a lukewarm pool. There were times I thought I thought I would fail and there were times I really surprised myself with how well I can swim. It was tough. I don't think I'll ever wash out the smell of chlorine. But it was one of the most fun and most rewarding things I've ever done.
Today I became a lifeguard.
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