Poolside

When I was a kid, my backyard had that most coveted of summer distractions: a swimming pool. My brother and I spent entire summer days in and out of that pool, and I have many a fond memory of the water, the sun, and the summer breeze on my skin. Conjuring these happy childhood memories, I sputtered through the first of my swim training sessions during my Official Traithlon Training 2011 in the Mason High School pool this afternoon.

When I was on dialysis, I did not touch water save for a shower for 5 years straight. I did buy a suit for one spectacular occasion where I was invited to use a chlorinated pool and after being granted offical permission by my doctor, I lavished every second I got to float in that water. I thought about my childhood pool then, too, and tried to forget how tough it was to find a swimsuit that covered up my dialysis site and the tubing that was attached to it in my abdomen.

Today I swam my goal of 500 yards very slowly, taking lots of breaks and even avoiding a small panic-attack as I found myself more out of breath than I had expected. I floated a while on my back, thinking about Shamu, a black-and-white pool toy I had as a kid, and how it will feel in June to be swimming around Hawk Island. I try hard to not dwell on the past and compare where I have come from so much, but to consider where I am at the present moment, and just keep putting one foot in front of the other, or in today's case, take one stroke at a time. I encourage everyone reading this blog to do the same, whatever your goals are, and to just keep moving forward, even when the steps are small and the terrain is difficult.