What a difference a swim makes, or at least getting back into the pool after a long absence. I barely remember my initial swimming lessons as a child, only that I found it exhausting and hard to keep up with the other children. I suspect this may have been more about the sense of competition than anything else. The instructor started by getting everyone to feel comfortable about putting their faces under water and breathing out naturally. He explained that most people hold their breath when swimming and that was the main cause of tiredness, rather than the exertion of swimming itself. He went on to say that if you watch Olympic swimmers they glide more than swim and we would be doing a lot of gliding. This made me extremely happy. I was even more determined and ready to take everything I learned onboard without fear.

However, my old habits saw me more concerned about my fitness levels than anything else, so I clung to the buoyancy aides knowing I would not have to work so hard if I used them. I was soon rumbled by the instructor and he encouraged me to continue to glide under my own steam. Surprisingly, I was able to glide more than half the width of the pool without any movement and not huffing and puffing even after several widths. I’m so pleased I took the opportunity to have lessons again as an adult. I’m looking forward to seeing how far I can go this time around. If by the end of the course,  I can tread water and tumble-turn, my fear of water will be well behind me.

This week has been largely creative and more of a lesson on how not to construct a story than anything else. Breathing new life into old or unused material was not the time saver I anticipated, but I think it hangs together. In future, starting from scratch may be a better option, we’ll see.