A Life Long Friend

 My Friend Water 💙🩵🤍

One thing I so enjoy about summer is that I get to spend so much more time in and around the water. Water has truly been a friend for me for many years now and still to this day provides so many different things for me. 

I grew up swimming. I took swimming lessons at the YMCA starting at age six. They had different levels to progress thru depending on your skills. There was a certain requirements to move into the next level. These levels were polliwog, guppy, minnow, fish shark and I got a patch for completing each. This also was the start of my competitive swimming.

I was on our local swim teams. In the Midwest we had winter team which was the indoor circuit and summer was the outdoor pools. My small town had the benefit of an endowment to build an Olympic sized public pool so I got to practice and compete in that pool as our home town pool. 

We had a pretty good team for the most part. Competition was amongst age groups. I swam the freestyle but my specialty was the butterfly, where broad shoulders served me well. Lots of good memories of the teams and fun we had together. I still have a box of my medals that I won over the years.

Swimming in the lakes and the streams and even creeks were a regular summer activity too. Wherever the wet stuff was, you were sure to find me and a few friends having fun in, on it and around it. Camping and fishing and swimming with my Dalmatian Emily are some more fond memories around water. I will save my ocean times for another post by simply saying Kauai Hawaii. Wow! 

Water now is a huge resource for my mental health. I feel so safe in the water. The way it’s warm and contains me and cools me off, lowers my fire level, when needed. I’ve talked about my love for isolation tank floats but the pool is a whole another animal for me. It’s been a little slow going for me and my pool time due to the skin issues, but it’s getting close to me being unlimited and I can’t wait.

It also assists my body so very much. The ability to support and actually free me from some restricted movement while on land can feel so liberating to my struggles. That breaking down of my body threatens my independence so I’m thankful that the pool helps me keep managing each day for now. 

My pool time is mornings and then usually not again until evening as our brutal heat has arrived. My little ferals hang out with me by the pool. It makes me smile that they feel comfortable enough to spend the time with me. It’s quite our routine now as I cool off some areas for them with water from my garden hose before heading into the pool. I love floating and watching the stars. 

Of course I’m not going to write about water without acknowledging how important it is for hydration, for life force. Our body is around 60% water and it plays a vital role. I must say that water is something I have always liked to drink and for many years now I rarely drink anything other than water. A good habit I created…one of a very few that has travelled this far with me. 

I will give myself a kudos for my overall relationship with water. It really has been a life long friend and ally to me and I look forward to enjoying it to the max these next few months.

I’m not great but I’m still trying. That’s all I can ask of myself today. 

6.18.25