It was another wild morning down at the Albany Bulb today. Angie and I met up a bit late, after my class and after we had driven our daughters to school, and we took our time getting into the rollicking water. For the first time in a long time I thought, why am I doing this? It didn’t get better as we dipped our toes in. The water temperature had plummeted since earlier in the week (it was 62 today and 69 on Wednesday) and the shoreline was strewn with more litter than usual; the murky brown water swirling with plastic bags and food wrappers. 

The unpleasant entry was soon forgotten, though, as the water cleared up and the cooler water felt wonderful; a slight tingling on my skin reminding me that I was a vital human body, beautifully alive. Reminding me of all that is good about a cold water swim (not that 62 is all that cold, but it’s all so very relative!).

The waves weren’t as big as yesterday, but the push and pull of the chop was wilder. It was a fun, bumpy swim. On a day like today, swimming front crawl, I never know when I lift my head to breathe whether I am about to be smacked in the face by a wall of water. Surrendering to the water, I’m lifted and jostled, slapped around, and see-sawed. It’s a wild ride and I love it.