it’s been a year since i dedicated two weeks to myself and to learning how to swim.

the backstory:  in preparation for our fantastic sailing adventure, i had been attempting to learn how to swim. it was a lot harder than i thought it would be and i wondered if i was going about it all wrong.

i signed up for once-a-week adult lessons at denver university. they’ve got a big pool and insist on teaching adults privately. after a half-dozen lessons, i hadn’t drowned even a little, though i did inhale more chlorinated water than i’d like. i learned the basic freestyle form and some backstroke. i hadn’t figured out the breathing bit yet, which was disconcerting at that moment. but i learned that i’m not comfortable in the water but not terrified either.

it occurred to me in a dream (seriously) that i would never learn to swim if i couldn’t learn to be comfortable in deep water. i figured once i was more at ease in the water and no longer focused on survival, i would be ready to learn strokes. i tried to explain this to britney, my swim instructor, but she didn’t quite understand. so the question became how could resolve this without (a) drowning, (b) getting discouraged, or (c) spending a fortune on lessons that couldn’t address my fundamental issue?

friends or family teaching me makes everyone involved impatient. paying a stranger to help me had, so far, been working out much better.

i wasn’t afraid to put my face in the water or get water in my eyes or mouth. my ears and nose were a completely different story. it’s more instinct and, maybe, a hyperactive flight response.

there’s too much happening in my mind when i’m in the water:

• my swimming instructor’s barking orders about form and efficiency and where my limbs should be and when i should breathe.
• my brain is saying “you’re crazy. you’re not a fish. breathing and water don’t go together. get to dry land!”
• my body is saying “you’re outta shape and you’re tired. get to the wall and stay there.”
• my heart is saying “you’ve always wanted to do this. please keep trying.”

most adults i’ve come across learned to swim as children. they seem shocked and a little disappointed to learn that i never learned. it’s just one of things that everyone “knows” how to do. well, not me. when i finally decided to stop being afraid, it was a bigger deal than i could have expected. enter the miracle swimming institute and the wonderful melon dash.

melon only teaches adults who are afraid of the water. she uses her own method and travels around the country to bring it people. she even addresses the belief that black folks don’t/can’t swim. i won’t bore you with the details but, in two weeks i went from “no way” to “cannonball!”

me floating, not dead. notice the i don’t float horizontally. not everyone does and that was a major breakthrough for me.

thinking about jumping in

ok, i finally jumped

yes, breathing out is ok

the group with instructors. some came from the philippines to learn melon’s method.

VIDEO
one small step …
confirming what i always feared: i’m a sinker.
my classmates and i in the deep end. my float style is almost completely vertical which means i have to work a little harder to keep from dieing sinking.
OMG swimming!
my first dive!!!