The tide was so low this morning that it was like crawling through mud for the first ten minutes of our swim this morning. I went down to the Albany Bulb after my Lift and Sprint class, sweaty and hot and ready for a plunge.

To my delight, Sheila and Angie were still sitting at the circle chatting when I arrived and so the three of us went in together. We walked until the mush got unbearable and then we flopped, gracelessly into the shallows. My knees were scraping the bottom as I tried to invent a new stroke that required nothing but parallel movements.

My plan was to swim with Charlotte who was heading down after dropping her kids off at school and so, after a while, I let Sheila and Angie go ahead. As they disappeared into the distance, I swam laps near the shore until Charlotte arrived and slogged her way through the muck.

The two of us swam into the sunshine, relishing the beautiful day, and when Sheila and Angie reemerged from beyond the horizon, the four of us swam back in together.