We had a very fun celebration of fifty-four years of Angie this morning. Arwen, Sheila, Colleen, Kim, Kira, and I arrived early to blustery winds, gray skies, and choppy waves at the Albany Bulb. It was also low tide and so it was another mud slog and flop into the water kind of entry. But because it was windy and cold outside, being in the water was preferable and so we performed the slogging and flopping more quickly than usual.

It was a fun swim through the best kind of chop where the water gently rocks and rolls me along. It’s strangely relaxing, almost mesmerizing and I feel like I could just swim and swim forever. 

We stopped just past The Big Tree where Angie declared it was time to get into our birthday suits. So we stripped off our bathing suits and luxuriated in the freedom of naked swimming. As anyone who has ever skinny dipped can confirm (and hopefully that’s everyone reading this), nothing beats swimming bare. 

We swam gloriously naked until we began to slog into the shallows again and then reclothed for an exit that wouldn’t shock the dog walkers. 

Up at the circle we had cake and coffee and showered Angie in birthday love, which, for the written record I will also do here. Angie has the most welcoming, open smile you’ve ever seen and when she walks into a room it’s like a beam of sunlight has flooded everything with warmth and light. Whatever wild scheme you might have, whatever idea or adventure; Angie will want to join you. She is the queen of saying yes and figuring out how it will work out later. Which is exactly the kind of energy I need in my life, being more of an approach-everything-with-skepticism kind of a gal. Swimming every day is not something I would likely be doing without Angie in my life. For one thing, it was Angie, along with Arwen, who first got me swimming in the bay in January 2021. But beyond that, the irrepressible enthusiasm and joy Angie has for swimming is infectious. The irrepressible enthusiasm and joy Angie has for life is infectious. I feel lucky to call her my friend and grateful that our swimming adventures have deepened that friendship. Happy birthday, Angie!