…may well be the worst-ranked Wes Anderson film, but it happens to be my favorite. (And I love Wes Anderson movies!) It has a vibe, a feeling to it that celebrates everything about summer and the ocean that I love. For the love of Pete, it has Fisher-Price Adventure People in it!
But aside from that movie, the life aquatic has been a side of me my whole life. I am intensly passionate about swimming, and the water, and the ocean. Swimming is my favorite sport and exercise and the water calls to me. From the intense aqua-blue of the waters of Majorca, Spain ( a life dream to swim there) to the pool in my backyard (a life-long dream that came true), I am a better person when I’ve been in the water.
A few years ago one of my ultimate dreams came true- we bought a swimming pool! Seriously it has made us all soooo happy. Best “silly” thing we ever spent money on!
I find it hard to express this feeling of loving the water, the summertime, the feel and even taste of it. I love to eat goat cheese because it tastes like chlorine smells. I love briny olives and shellfish and pushing myself to swim a little longer when my lungs feel like they will burst. I love playing with my kids in the pool and swimming next to my husband. I love wearing a bikini no matter how bad I look in one these days because the freedom I feel in it in the water.
…seemingly afloat in a sea cave. The soft summer air caressed and healed like water.”
-Joan Lindsay, “Picnic at Hanging Rock”
It does wonders for my mental health. I found that I could not de-stress, or turn off my anxiety response after the prolonged stress of the beginning of this year (we lost my husband’s grandma Joyce, our sweet golden retriever Abbey and our sweet Maddy-cat, I was diagnosed with premature macular degeneration- this can make you blind, and still fighting Lupus) and finally being done with my huge National Boards exam. So I got in the pool as much as possible and communed with God. I tell you the water, prayer, and being outside healed my mind and my frayed nerves. Thank God he gave us these things. It made such a difference. I could not turn my stress off, but after a few days it was over. I was back to normal.
Thankfully our pool is open from late May to late September so there is plenty of float time.
My daughter takes after me- shoe loves the water too- but she is much, much faster than me swimming!
Our son is a great swimmer too, but he prefers land sports!
Then, there is the nostalgia, perhaps the strongest emotion tied to the water. My mother would always take me to the pool anytime I wanted, there would always be an ice cream sandwich afterwards. I feel like she knew me deeply about my love of swimming. She did not have that same desire, yet she took me every time. There were the ocean Adventure People that my cousins owned- we played with them constantly. And one of the things I love about my husband is that his legs match the diver’s. There is just something about these sets that gives me ALL the summer/swimming vibes and we often have our sets of them in the pool with us.
Even the colors of the water give me the feels!
Where we live the pool can stay open till mid-September, so I have plenty of water time left this year! I can’t wait!
Does the water sing to you? Let me know!
With gentle waves to you from Kansas Street,
-Jaime
Life on Kansas Street 