Returning to the pool has ripple effect

I’m a water baby. All my life, I’ve found joy and peace in an ocean, a lake, a pool.

Water calls to me. I like how my body moves in water and how water flows around my movements, accommodating, forgiving. I like how clear my mind is when I’m in the water. 

Over the years, I’d given up spending time in the water unless My Favourite Husband (MFH) and I were on vacation. But at home, I was lazy and pool exercise time was nonexistent.

That changed when MFH died. I had lunch one day with one of my sister-in-laws and we were discussing what I was doing to help work through my grief. We talked about my circle of support, as well as my sessions with the grief counsellor. She asked if I was doing anything physical as an outlet. I recall looking at her like she had just returned from Mars because the link between physical exercise and mental health didn’t compute. She pushed, just a little more, and mentioned that used to really love being in the water and maybe aquafit classes or lane swimming could be one more thing I could add to my healing process.

I’d never tried aquafit (water aerobics) before and the idea of doing cardio and strength exercises along with abdominal exercises and stretching — all to music — appealed to me. So my first time, I waded tentatively into a swimming pool and was surrounded by a group of senior citizen mavens who needed to hear my life story as they immediately decided to take me under their wings. And once the class started and I began to move, my body responded to the exercises — to the water — and I felt a bit of peace.

It was also a good place to cry. Everyone thought my tears were pool water. (I work out hard and splash a lot.) If I needed to cry, I did. But I also tried to give myself a mental break from life and focus on as much of the workout only as I could. Real life would be waiting when my hour was done. Real life would not go away. 

It didn’t take long and being in the water became something that I could not live without. Lane swimming isn’t my jam but aquasize is. The more I pushed my body, the stronger both it — and my mind — became. The exercise has been making me healthier: fitter, stronger, lighter in every way possible. I need it. I crave it. 

The other unexpected benefit has been meeting many new people — people who know nothing about my life as a married woman or a widow except what I choose to share with them. They are connecting with me knowing me only as the woman I am now. 

Two of these women have become good friends. One sends me TikToks of good-looking men and obscure metal music videos that make me laugh. The other is spiritual and challenges the way I think about some things. She doesn’t care what I think but she likes to challenge my outlook. which is great and keeps me from being complacent. 

The other favourite of mine is a young gentleman with Downs Syndrome. Somewhere along the line, I’ve become one of his girlfriends. The biggest benefits of that are the huge hugs I get and that he serenades me in the pool whenever the songs I’ve Got You Babe or My Girl come on. He’s brilliantly funny, always in a good mood and elevates the mood of the workout to one of joy and positivity.

If I’m having a less-than-rock-star day and I can make it to a class that he attends, it flips the switch and my day is instantly better.

I go to different pools and attend both morning and evening classes depending on my schedule. I’ve been doing it for more than a year now and I can’t envision my life without it. 

I think I was a mermaid in another life and I’m glad to be back home in the water.

❤️