Swimming

“What?” you ask. “Writing about swimming in October?” Yes I am. With the unexpected gift of a few sunny warm days, I have swimming on my mind.

Peter and I only went swimming in a lake a few times this past summer. We swam at our son’s cottage in Muskoka. Actually I didn’t swim much. Instead I tried to join Ben and Gavin, the grandkids, on their lily pad while they used me as target practice with their water pistols. Peter swam across the lake one day and was pleased with his accomplishment. Another day he went swimming accidentally when his kayak almost submerged with him in it.

Peter chasing the kayak; vacated lily pad in front

Swimming in the city is usually convenient. There are several public pools – indoor and outdoor. A few times we walked up the street to our local outdoor pool, heated and not too crowded in the deep end. One day in August we took grandchildren Sophie and Gavin there for an afternoon of diving for octopus. Gavin was not armed and we all had fun. We threw the plastic toys and they dove for them. After they were tired out, we walked home for ice cream. The pool is a delight but it is now closed until next summer.

One of our daughters lives in a condo with an indoor pool, and we sometimes get invited for a Sunday swim. The water is warm and there are noodles for floating; both requirements for an aging Nana. Mostly we watch our grand daughter, Agnes, practise her swimming skills for the competitive swim team she has joined. A couple of weeks ago she taunted Peter with an offer of a race. He couldn’t resist the challenge. On the first try, she beat him 4 laps to 1. But on the next race, Peter got out his best swim stroke and turned up the heat – she still beat him, but only 2 to 1. Pretty good when you consider that she is 12 and he is 77!

Last Friday, when Lucy arrived and we hadn’t discussed where to go for a walk, we decided to investigate an indoor pool only a few kilometers away. This pool, Gus Ryder Community Pool, has a reputation with seniors for having warm water And warm dressing rooms. This is our kind of pool! We weren’t too sure how things worked, so we took bathing suits, towels, a few small bills and not much else.

The small bills covered the entrance fee – $5.00 for both of us. The pool was divided into 4 sections for lane swimming: fast, medium, slow and FAT aka Float And Talk! Peter chose Medium and I chose FAT. There were a number of older women in that section and they were definitely talking a lot, as they wandered from one end of the pool to the other, sometimes splashing their arms around from side to side.

I found a spot on one side of the FAT lane, where I could do some lengths at my own pace. There was classical music playing and it was heavenly. After about an hour, Peter and I got out of the pool and went to our separate change rooms. I had a lovely shower and was able to dry my hair under a hand dryer that had been installed at head height. Everything worked well for me.

Peter, on the other hand, had forgotten shampoo and soap. He tried to “borrow” mine, but one of the lifeguards came to my rescue and told him there was soap in his change room. Well there was, but it was with the sinks, not the showers. So Peter spent a lot of time running from the shower to the sinks and filling his cupped hands with soap, running back to the shower as the soap dripped onto the floor, washing one body part, running back to the sinks while trying to avoid the slippery floor spots, getting more soap, running to the shower, washing another body part, and so on. It took a while.

Meanwhile I sat in the lobby waiting for him and planning his Christmas gift – soap on a rope.

Sue

Our local pool, closed for the season