My first swim of my year of swimming was an easy swim to love. I woke up to sunshine on a beautiful beach in Baja surrounded by dear friends and family who were as eager to plunge into the surf as I was.

The waves were rollicking and forceful as if insisting that 2022 was a year to be reckoned with. We got smacked around a bit, but mostly laughed and leaped and dove and felt the ocean catapulting us into the new year.

Also, this dog:

Bailey has never met a body of water she didn’t want to gallop straight into and she is the energy I need to embody for the next 364 days. “Be like Bailey” is going to be my new mantra.