It’s finally here– International Mermaid day! I know, you’ve been looking forward to telling the kids they can have mermaid cereal for breakfast, serving siren-shaped cookies at work, and putting more than the usual amount of colorful seaweed in your hair for date night. Well, feel free to unleash your inner water-nymph– it’s time!
Seriously, though, International Mermaid Day? Why?
This article suggests that, because mermaid figures have appeared in literature and mythological stories around the globe, having a day dedicated to them offers us a chance to be creative. That makes sense. However, I’ve always associated mermaids with more athletic pursuits. Why? Two words: Weeki Wachee.
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park west-central Florida has featured underwater mermaid shows since the late 1940s. Although the publicity photos are very pin-up and glamour-like, the women working as mermaids have serious athletic skills. They are strong swimmers and divers, and learn to use hoses underwater to take occasional breaths so they can perform graceful and acrobatic maneuvers for awed guests. Here’s a short Youtube piece on the multi-decade tradition of working as a Weeki Wachee mermaid.
NYT video on the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida, on YouTube
You can also explore an online exhibit of the history and lives of the Women of Weeki Wachee State Park, curated by historian Rebecca Schwandt. I did, and it was so interesting reading about these women. They trained, they performed, they went on strike for better pay and they passed on their knowledge to others.
And they’ll pass on that knowledge to you, too, if you sign up for a Sirens of the Deep Mermaid camp weekend (although all 2024 dates are sold out, sadly). Want to know more? Of course you do. Here’s a video about the camp:
Sirens of the Deep Mermaid Camp video on YouTube
For me, the image of the mermaid reminds me of ways women have always been very athletic in and around the water: swimming, diving, lifeguarding, kayaking, paddle boarding, surfing, synchronized swimming, distance swimming, diving, snorkeling, etc.
And yes, there were (and still are) women performing feats of athletic prowess in coconut shell or sequinned bikini tops and pull-on spandex opalescent fins. Why not? It can be fun, and it’s a job that Central Florida women have valued and made their own for decades. Honestly, there are worse gigs than working as a serious underwater swimming mermaid. Am I right?
So Happy International Mermaid Day to us all!
p.s. I keep flirting with the idea of signing up for Mermaid Camp. Whaddya think?
“February 7th marks NGWSD, an annual celebration dedicated to acknowledging women’s history in sports, celebrating current achievements, and recommitting to the continued fight for equality.
So on today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz are starting the party early, digging into the history of the day, some of the ongoing barriers to participation in sports for girls and women, and all of the incredible recent progress that’s been made. Queue it up and let’s keep on leveling the playing field.”
📢Or if you’re in the mood for a cry, there’s my sad song playlist. Suggestions? Leave them in the comments below.
“A wealth of literature shows that the size of our bodies is largely out of individuals’ control, in being due to genetics, the food environment, common illnesses and medications, and a whole host of other unchosen factors. But even to the extent that fatness is (for some people, and to some extent) under our control, analogies suggest that this is not a genuine moral issue.
People make all sorts of trade-offs to enrich their lives in some way, to pursue their desires and whims and pleasures, at the expense of potentially serious health problems and even increased mortality. Take the person who regularly goes BASE jumping, despite the risk of serious injuries and death; take the person who attempts to climb Mount Everest, despite the risk of altitude sickness and falls and frostbite; take the person who races cars, despite the risk of crashes and conflagrations; take, to use the philosopher A. W. Eaton’s pertinent example, the person who tans their skin, despite the risk of cancer. Provided they take reasonable precautions, such as using the right equipment, and do not endanger others, we do not tend to condemn or shame these people. We regard them as entitled to live their lives, and to have humane and fitting healthcare if they do run into problems. We even generally regard them as entitled to run the risk of dying significantly younger. And we are right to regard them as having these entitlements.”
“…there was something striking about hearing people use that term [marrying my best friend] at their weddings, when there was a maid of honor or best man standing right next to the couple. I felt like I was watching best friends get publicly demoted. If you have a spouse, they’re already assumed to be the most important person in your life, so I was curious about why many people feel compelled to have a spouse grab the top title in the friendship category, too.”
I’ve always thought these “Polar Bear dips” (where people voluntarily run or jump into open bodies of water in the winter) were rather silly events. Why on early would anybody want to subject themselves to cold, icy and potentially dangerous (read: hypothermia, heart attacks) conditions? How ridiculous.
And then.
I started to have conversations with someone I’m getting to know and is becoming a good friend. It turns out they are a huge fan of an apparently popular thing called cold water immersion. They swear by it; it helps them with mental focus and clarity, aching joints, malaise, you name it. So in an effort to understand them more, I embarked on my own cold exposure protocol. For two months now, I’ve been starting my showers with 3 min of cold water only, followed by regular warm shower. While it’s quite a shock walking into a cold water shower, afterwards I feel a very pleasant cooling sensation across my upper body and upper legs. It’s a nice change from those raging fires of menopause!
I have also been doing a 5-minute outdoor meditation, standing outside on my front porch in my shorts and t-shirt and practicing Qigong-style breathing: feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, shoulders back and a breathing cycle of 5 s inhale, 5 s exhale and 5 s breath hold. It’s got to the point where walking outside in the cold air automatically triggers the deep breathing cycle. It’s a great start to my day and I really look forward to it. And in these winter days, I get to see the sun rise (when we get treated to the sun!).
I also joined a Facebook group called “Did you swim today” and there are LOTS of people all over the world who enjoy “wild” swimming or just swimming in cold water. It’s a thing! I love seeing their pictures of swimming in the open water, then all huddled together on the shore in their swim parkas, sipping tea and eating cakes (yes, many cold water swimmers are in the UK). There’s even a group that call themselves the Bluetits! They have outfits and everything!
So seeing as many people experience cold water swimming as fun and/or therapeutic, I thought that maybe a polar bear dip may not be such a weird thing after all. Maybe all those cold showers and outdoor meditations prepared me to change my thinking?
So last week I put out a question to a group of new friends on my swim team: Does anyone know of a New Year’s Polar Bear Dip in London?
THAT got the ball rolling, and soon we were all signed up for a Polar Bear dip at Little Beach in Port Stanley. It was happening!
There were 7 of us from the swim team, but there were lots of other people at the beach, maybe about 50 total. The air temperature was -1C, and the water was 4C. WOW!! My cold exposure protocol definitely “trained” me for this event. In addition to my swimsuit, I wore goggles (they are prescription goggles so that I could see), a swim cap and toque, neoprene gloves, and water shoes. We did a 5 min “acclimation” on the beach, getting used to the cold air in our swimsuits, and I automatically started my breathing cycle. Then everyone starting running into the water! I did as well, and very quickly found out 2 things: 1. Little Beach is VERY SHALLOW for a LONG WAYS; and 2. Those water shoes did NOT protect my feet from the cold. So I realized very quickly that I was NOT going to get any swimming in! After a bit of running, my feet started to hurt from the cold, so I just dropped down into the water (not my head, but the rest of me), and started my breathing cycle again. It felt so invigorating, and I know that my cold showers prepared me for the cold water. I stayed in the water for less than a minute; my feet were SCREAMING, so I ran out, immediately put on my robe and ran to the car to change and warm my very numb feet.
My post-swim attire consisted of 2 pairs of wool socks, winter boots, fleece track pants, t-shirt, wool sweater, parka, mitts and fleece-lined wool toque. I was not shivering, but was a bit concerned about my very numb feet. We went for breakfast and warmed up with hot coffee and food. At first, I felt pretty good, feeling warmed up and not cold at all. Then about 30 minutes later, I felt rather cool within my upper body. It was kind of like after my cold shower, but a bit more intense, so I put my parka back on. It took about 15 min to warm back up.
As for my poor feet, they took a LONG time to recover! I felt a tingling sensation during breakfast, and the feeling came back very slowly. My feet stayed cold until after I got home and put my feet close to our fireplace for about 10 min.
But what a great time! In fact, our group wants to go to the beach once a month, so we’re doing it again in February! I’ve put my order in for neoprene swim boots. Stay tuned for the next cold swim adventure!
Side profile of a person submerged in shallow water with her head and feet above water.
It’s Saturday night in the big city, and what are three slightly sick, still recovering from the lurgy, fit feminists to do?
Why, how about watch NYAD, and write a short and snappy group review it for the blog?
Sam
What I loved
The soundtrack is great. And given that these are the songs Diana Nyad sang to herself while swimming for hours and hours, they had better be good.
I totally got caught up in the drama, the “will she make it?” of it all even though I knew the answer. Given how boring hours and hours of swimming can be, I think they did a pretty good job making that gripping.
What I didn’t like so much
Diana Nyad herself is extremely annoying and there’s just no getting around that.
Swim training is only so exciting to watch.
Overall
I’m turning 60 this year and while I’m tempted by the idea of various athletic challenges, Nyad has persuaded me that long distance ocean swimming won’t be it. Lol.
I learned a lot. I’ve never thought about seasickness while swimming and I thought box jellyfish were purely an Australian problem.
Sarah
What I loved
The film seemed to be reasonably faithful to Nyad’s life, personality and experience. While the dialogue was a little wooden at times I felt the actors did a good job portraying complex real-life characters.
The film started a little slowly but overall I felt the directors did a good job maintaining interest and pacing despite the marathon, repetitive nature of the subject matter. Their experience in documentary filmmaking shone through in their effective use of archival footage and they managed to keep us on the edge of our seats even though we know how everything turns out in the end.
I enjoyed learning more about Nyad’s years-long journey to her record-setting swim, and the team that surrounded and supported her.
What I didn’t like so much
There were definitely a few scenes and bits of dialogue that came off a little stilted, and it sometimes felt like they weren’t sure if the film was a documentary, a relationship drama, or an adventure movie. I was charmed but unmoved by the animated hallucination sequences.
While I understand why they kept the on-water team to a single boat for dramatic effect, it was weird not to represent the larger team and flotilla of boats that followed Nyad from Cuba to Florida.
The film sometimes loses its way when trying to capture Nyad’s abrasive personality and single-minded focus on her goal. The result appeared to imply a certain level of neurodivergence, or at least obsession with her “destiny”, underlies Nyad’s efforts, rather than highlighting her as a driven athlete who focused on achieving and stay in peak condition for weeks at a time waiting for the right conditions required for a successful swim, and the cost to both herself and the team around her.
Overall
Overall this was an entertaining and inspiring movie, warts and all. Definitely worth checking out, albeit with a content warning for the vivid and repeated portrayals of several traumatic events in Nyad’s history.
Catherine
What I loved
There was a total transformation into characters by some well-known actors. I loved that it was done by, uh, just acting– not prosthetics, heavy makeup, or body padding.Their skill was sufficient. I no longer saw Jodie Foster or Annette Bening or Rhys Ifans; I saw these personages, all caught up in this quixotic enterprise spearheaded by Diana Nyad.I believed it and was also caught up in the drama, despite the fact that I already knew how it ended.
The filmmakers and writers were very creative and clever, which they had to be in order to make several attempts at a 100-mile swim (spoiler: she swam 110 miles) seem compelling. They used special effects to play out several colorful hallucination experiences Diana had during long hours in deep water. I enjoyed the ways they depicted them and how Bening as Nyad reacted to her watery delusions.
What I didn’t like so much
Even though I really enjoyed the characters as built by the actors, sometimes it seemed like they were trying to act like old people– crotchety, stubborn, single-mindedly irrational. However, those moments were fleeting.
Overall
I came away from this film about Nyad’s stupendous athletic achievement feeling impressed by her focus and ability to tolerate pain in order to reach this goal. But I also feel like the completion of this goal doesn’t at all relate to more ordinary physical goals or programs we non-professionals take on, fail at, complete, or make progress toward. It took hundreds of thousands of dollars, a team of many dedicated people, and a lot of time– resources that almost none of us have.
I don’t see her as an athletic role model; I see her as an extraordinary and unusual athlete with a very special set of skills and unusual personality. That said, this film is really worth seeing. I got to see inside the mindset and pressures of one world-class athlete who did at 64 what no one had done.
I’ve taken some steps to being certified as a spin instructor. I started that because I thought I could help out with the bike rally winter, indoor, training sessions. See here and here.
I’ve also done some teaching with Chris Helwig, Coach Chris, in his basement.
For the certification, I’ve done the class and just need to do the practical part, co- teaching and then leading my own spin class.
It seems likely that I’ll do this after dean-ing!
But in the meantime, there’s a flurry of activity among senior lifeguards. A lot of programming is being canceled because of the lack of lifeguards, and friends near or past retirement are re-upping their life guarding credentials to help out.
My daughter Mallory, who teaches people to be lifeguards of all sorts, thinks I should give it a go, too. It would certainly give me a focus for swimming. But she did all of her Bronzes as a teenager. The idea of swim training with teenagers doesn’t really appeal to me.
I might look around for adult classes. I’m a strong, steady, but not very speedy swimmer, and I know one of the things I’ll struggle with is the timed endurance swim. I sometimes wonder why it’s needed. I don’t think pool lifeguards ever swim 400 m to rescue someone.
Yes, beach lifeguards might, but that’s its own separate qualification. That test also involves running, so it’s a definite no for me.
I am good at treading water, and I’m good at getting bricks from the bottom of the pool.
Are you a swimmer? Have you thought about getting your lifeguard credentials? I know Diane is on it! If you ever were a lifeguard, I think you just need to recertify. Me, I’d need to start from scratch.
Hi folks– there’s a particularly vicious cold virus going around, and it finally found me on Saturday. Today I’m in the throes of sleepless, snotty, coughy, crabby ColdWorld. You’ve all been there: can’t find a position for sleeping that doesn’t result in paroxysms of coughing, loud wheezing, breathing obstruction, etc. (Insert more whining here).
Yes, I’m glad it’s not COVID (of course I’ve tested– a couple of times), but it’s just a retro cold. Still, it’s enough to derail my weekend plans, including blog-writing ones. Last weekend I went to a meditation retreat at the Omega Institute, which was a very interesting experience. I’ll be sharing it with you all this week. But right now, I don’t have enough active neurons firing to be particularly expressive or articulate. I had trouble just now typing articulate. You get the picture.
So, until my head clears, here are some pictures of incredible swims people on the Did you swim today? Facebook group have taken recently. A bunch of them are in the Southern Hemisphere, and others in tropical waters, and I am extremely envious. Take a look, and post your own envious thoughts. Or maybe post that you’ve swum there too, and I’ll envy you.
-crabby, coughy Catherine
Happy swimming people off the coast of Turkey on a swim cruise.The same happy swimming people off island off the coast of Turkey swimming in turquoise waters.Blissed-out swimmer in shallow waters off the coast of Mexico.View of Hawaian waters from the Royal Kona hotel, where a lucky swimmer was having a coffee before swimming.
Retouched but gorgeous nonetheless image of a swimming hole in a Queensland national park where some lucky duck took a dip.
Not my idea of nautical fun, but: a swimmer in Montegro, swimming near a WWII submarine tunnel. Pretty water, but too scary for me.
Would you rather be able to fly or be able to breathe under water? My seven-year-old daughter has been entertaining our family the past few suppers with “Would you rather” questions. This one, between flying or breathing under water, comes at a time when my choice is clear. However, if she had asked it two days ago, that clarity may not have been there.
Two days ago, I found myself spiraling towards depression. The current economic climate paired with my four-year-old son’s exercises in emotional regulation had been agitating my anxious mind. The stress had begun to cling to my arms, threatening to squeeze me into suffocation. By the time I sat down at the supper table, I was detached from conversation and desperate for solitude, a state of being that is contrary to my extroverted nature. I felt on the verge of a mental breakdown when, suddenly, I was hit with an undeniable desire: I wanted to go lane swimming.
Lane swimming
Swimming is my preferred fitness activity, though, admittedly, I don’t often engage in it. My fitness journey has been one of ideas more than one of action. When I am thinking about fitness it is in the context of “When I have some free time, I’ll get to it.” The problem is that I am the mom of two busy kids, a responsible pet owner to an active dog, a socialite who desires to stay connected, and an aspiring entrepreneur about to jump into a new career—free time evades me. These identities of mine are used as my primary excuses for scarcely devoting time to exercise.
However, that evening at the supper table, I chose to listen to my desire, and I declared to my husband that I was going lane swimming. We had already made plans for him to complete the children’s bedtime routine while I got some work done, but I told him that I needed to go swimming instead. Being the knowledgeable and supportive husband that he is, he heard my desperation and encouraged me to go.
Yet, even after mentally committing to going, I found myself putzing about, slowly gathering my aquatic attire, waiting for the excuses or distractions to come. A small voice trickled in bringing guilt over leaving the family and household responsibilities to my husband. Isn’t that often the case, that women feel guilty about taking time to take care of themselves? I am thankful that my husband doesn’t support that mindset. Seeing my hesitation, he told me again to go. No other excuses came.
So I went. I drove the one kilometer to the pool, navigated the newly renovated changeroom, and walked awkwardly towards the lanes. Feeling out of place and slightly embarrassed by my existence, I paused to confirm with the lifeguard that all lanes were open. They were. Then, after more than five years, I snapped on my goggles and dove in.
What a glorious experience! The salty basin welcomed me freely, extending the kindness of washing the tensions and stresses from my body. Giving way to my strokes, the water let me rise and fall with the movements of my limbs. My muscles propelled me forward in a pattern understood by my lungs, which held air for me until my mouth broke the surface. I swam two lengths, rested for a minute, and then repeated, cycling between the front crawl, breaststroke, and backstroke.
For 30 minutes I resisted the urge to push myself in favour of allowing myself to enjoy my time in the water. That proved to be difficult as two swimmers in the lane next to me had performed their butterfly strokes at twice the speed of my breaststroke. To tame my competitiveness, I allowed myself to admire the strength of these women. Though their skills surpassed mine, I knew that it was a result of ambition, perseverance, and conditioning.
These women were working hard, and I knew that they had reached their level of athleticism by choosing to engage in that hard work regularly. I felt inspired by these women by their mere existence in the pool, so I chose to allow myself to think of myself in that light too. I left the pool with a confidence and a knowledge about myself that I had silenced. I learned that in the water I am powerful, graceful, capable. In the water I feel hopeful, patient, and at peace.
Two days later, these feelings linger. The minute tension that remains in my glutes and hamstrings brings me pride. It took more effort to get myself to the pool than the act of swimming did. The only barricade between a lifestyle that heals my anxieties and nourishes my body is me.
My priorities, while focused on good things—like my children, pets, and wanting to contribute to the household in duties and in finances—have needed this awakening to consider the exponential benefits of physical activity.
My fitness journey is alive. When I am not physically moving, I am growing. My life leads me to places that challenge my priorities, my patience, and my fears. Fitness has a place in that growth, and I see it attract me back to it in my most desperate states of being. This time, I am certain that I won’t be waiting five years before visiting the lanes again. In fact, I find myself thinking that next time I’ll ride my bike the one kilometer to the pool.
I couldn’t have imagined that one lane session would be so transformative. So, when I am asked if I would rather be able to fly or breathe under water, my answer is quick and easy: I would rather breathe under water. It takes me to new heights anyway.
Stephanie Morris is a transcriptionist and writer based in Alberta, Canada. She is a wife, a mom of two, and a newcomer to the career-writing world. As a fancier of history and literature, she aspires to blend the two in fiction and nonfiction pieces. To follow Stephanie’s writing adventures, find her at @words.and.smores on Instagram.
There are first day of school photos in my social media newsfeed already. People! Geesh. Why do Americans start school so early?
But then there’s my own life. My 59th birthday is fast approaching. It’s the last day of August. My September calendar is getting pretty full. I’m thinking about a back to school haircut.
Yes, I’m on vacation this week. But the week after is a senior leadership retreat at the university, where retreat doesn’t mean we go anywhere. But it is a very big serious meeting about plans and priorities for the coming academic year.
I’m starting to have that panicky feeling that the end of summer is very much in sight. Ack!
Tonight sunset is 8:28 pm.
Now it’s normal to feel this way in August, especially for a university professor. I won’t tell you about all the writing I haven’t finished. That’s another story.
But this year, I feel the end of summer panic especially intensely. This year has been so much recovery from surgery and so much physio that there’s lots I haven’t done. Between work and physio, it’s been a very busy serious few months.
What exactly haven’t I done?
‣ I haven’t ridden my bike very far at all. No century rides for me this summer.
‣ I haven’t been out sailing in our Snipe. No Snipe racing for me this year.
‣ I haven’t gone back county canoe camping.
‣ I haven’t spent even a single day at the beach.
‣ This was also a summer of no European conferences. It’s been a while. First, no travel because of the pandemic and then no travel because of knee woes, knee surgery, and recovery.
‣ This is connected to the first point, but there’s also been no bike trips.
‣ And there are so many friends I’d like to hang out with on patios, but I am already saying, well, maybe next year.
Summer time flies by so fast.
And I haven’t even mentioned the weather and how much rain there’s been. The poor drenching wet bike rally!
Here’s three positive thoughts though.
First, focusing on my knees has been successful. I’ve been a dedicated physio patient. I’m back in the gym. And recovery is going very well. So it has been a summer of big effort and discipline but in the long run that will serve me well.
Second, summer isn’t over yet. My mum and I have a day trip planned for this week, and Sarah, mum, and I are taking all three dogs for a weekend away to visit my youngest child, Miles. It’s warm enough to enjoy the outdoors well into September and October. The very warm summer weather means that fall may be well be the best season for riding bikes.
Third, I think this year it’s okay to be making plans for next summer already. They say to allow a full year for each knee to recover from surgery. Knee #2 was April 10. So next spring and summer, I’ll be good to go knee wise. I’m hoping to travel and see a bit more of the world.
How do you feel about August and end of summer anxiety? What helps you cope?
Maybe some of you have already seen this on your Facebook feed; a 15 km swim challenge by the Canadian Cancer Society to raise funds for cancer research.
A person wearing a red swim cap swimming in a lake with trees in the background.
I’ve been noticing it on my Facebook feed, and would think “maybe I should try to do that”. Really, 15 km in a month is what I normally do during the swim season. But I was starting to waver, thinking “oh, it’s summertime, I’m going on vacation” etc.
And then the Fit Feminists came to my rescue! Sarah VS commented on it. Diane Harper was interested. I thought it would be fun to track our swims together. Then I signed up! And Diane signed up! And now we’re both fund-raising for cancer research through swimming.
For me, there are several motivations for signing up. The first is that I’m glad this is a swimming fundraiser and not a running one. When you think about it, there are SO MANY running events that are fundraisers. The Run for the Cure. The Father’s Day Run for Prostate Cancer. And, of course, the Terry Fox Run. Well, I don’t run. It’s not often that I see a fundraiser that involves swimming, my favourite activity. What a great way for me to get involved in raising money for a cause!
The second is cancer research itself. As a health researcher (diabetes research, not cancer), I have colleagues doing some amazing research in cancer, especially in developing innovative imaging techniques to detect very early stage cancer. I also get to see how these techniques directly benefit patients. A recent study showed that the prognosis for breast cancer has dramatically improved since the 1990s. Research is saving and improving lives.
The third (why do I always write in lists?!) is personal. In 2005, I lost my dad to colon cancer. The research around that type of cancer has also dramatically improved survival rates. Drugs have been developed that treat colitis, the inflammatory disease that eventually led to my dad’s cancer diagnosis. And regular colonoscopies are truly saving lives. I will NEVER miss my colonoscopy appointments.
Another plus is this gives me a great reason to not accept ANY meetings between 11:00-1:00 in the summer, since that is now my dedicated swim time!
Swimming is my favourite activity. It just got more special.
Now, I’m not saying that my post was a magic spell or anything but I think you can draw your own conclusions there.
Ahem…let’s carry on with today’s post.
The weather hasn’t been evenly delightful, we’ve still had a few cold days and a few rainy ones but, overall, we’ve been trending toward summer.
And today (Monday), I was able to do TWO of my most important summer activities – hiking and swimming.
My husband, my brother-in-law, and my 20 year old nephew and I went for an hour-long hike on the East Coast Trail this morning.
It was tough in some places but even in the challenging spots it was wonderful to be outside in the warm weather, moving happily along the trail.
I couldn’t see the phone screen when I took this so I didn’t realize that I looked a bit disgruntled, I am far happier than I look here. Image description; A selfie with the ocean in the background with a cliff in the distance. I’m wearing a white shirt, brown sunglasses and my hair is pulled back with a bandana. I’m smirking a little and I am kind of red in the face – it was hot out today!
This afternoon, we drove to a swimming hole about half an hour away and I had a marvellous time swimming and then floating on my back looking at the sky.
It was peaceful and cool – even with a bunch of kids goofing around nearby scaring each other with the idea that they had seen an eel in the water. (There probably wasn’t an eel, there was a bunch of vegetation at the bottom and some of it was pretty eel-like.)
In order to be close enough for a clear picture, I had to stand in ankle-deep mud and vegetation, hence the smile that’s almost a grimace. Again, I’m having way more fun that it looks like. Image description: I’m standing in chest-deep water, wearing a black swim shirt, a black bandana, and brown sunglasses. I’m smiling but it’s a bit of a strange smile like I’m a little uncomfortable because, in the moment, the slimy vegetation was creeping me out a bit.
I felt so relaxed and delighted just to be there in the water, especially after my more challenging activity in the morning.
So, with two key fun activities rolled into one day, that’s my summer fun off to a solid start.
I hope the same holds true for you. 💚⭐️
PS – This won’t be the only times that I go swimming and or hiking, but I’m so happy to have done both of them once already!
