Others in the class are graceful. I am not. Others in the class know all the moves. I do not. All my life I always thought I knew how to do a Jumping Jack. Did you know it can be done in reverse? I didn’t. But it can be. Not very well by me yet, that’s where coordination fails me. So far the ladies have been very kind. They smile and say I’ll get it eventually. I sincerely hope that is the case. I do not enjoy looking the fool.
My favorite part of water class is the last three to five minutes. After the splashing and thrashing, while we’re slowly and quietly stretching at the wall, the water goes calm. I have a hard time staying with the stretch routine. I like to just hang there, vertical like a buoy in the water. I love feeling weightless. I love feeling no pain. I love being still, feeling my body immersed in water. I love looking down, way down and seeing nothing between my feet and the bottom below. It feels like floating in the air! What a thrill! You don’t get that kind of thrill in the shallow end. Oh, and I even got the otter hands – you know, the aqua gloves with webbed fingers to create resistance. I smile to myself when I see them paddling around in the water (I have a thing for otters). Since joining the deep end class, I look forward to going. It feels magical. I like that kind of magic.