Splash

I was invited to be part of the Aha Moment project.  I was very close to not doing it.  I even pulled into the parking, made an immediate u-turn, and left.  But I came back!  See, ironically, I planned to talk about forcing yourself to push beyond the things that scare you; to be afraid but doing it anyway.  And I was terrified about this situation.  Fear 1) going sleeveless.  Fear 2) speaking about myself in front of people I don’t know.  And fear 3) being filmed.  But, you know what?  If I’m telling other people to push past their fears, I really damn well better do the same.  So I did it.  They edited out a lot because of how short the segments are but, hopefully, my point came across.

My Aha Moment

I got into the pool at the gym on Monday!  Talk about scary.  I didn’t realize that, because of the summer camps they offer, the goddamn pool would be me and four goddamn dozen kids.  This wasn’t “scary”, this was panic attack inducing scary!  I told myself, just get in the water, you can leave in five minutes if you want to.  So I got in the pool and since I couldn’t do the walking with 1,000 kids in my way, I just hooked my arms along the edge behind me, and kicked my legs.  Since there was zero pressure on my joints and no pain at all, I managed to do it for an hour before finally stopping.  Then I just enjoyed being in the water, even during the many cannon balls done next to me, sending a tsunami of water to hit me.  I want to try the aqua aerobics class. 

While in the pool, I made a couple of nine-year old friends.  One I caused shock and awe in when I told him that holding your breath is something you can improve with practice - I BLEW THAT CHILD’S MIND. 

Favorite Conversation
Him: Are those tattoos waterproof?
Me: They’re permanent and will always be there.
Him: FOREVER?!?!
Me: Yep, forever.
Him: Even when you die?!
Me: Even AFTER I die!
Him: You have a lot of tattoos.  But you have lots of room for them.
Me: Totally!  I’m fat so I have lots of space for them!
Him: Some people would diet.
Me: Some people would, some people wouldn’t.  All bodies are good bodies.
Him: That’s true. Do you think I can hold my breath long enough to swim to the other side?!

I called a friend I hadn’t talked to in…god, about 10 years?  Maybe a little less than that.  And I was so scared because it had been so long and he had asked me to call him so many times since he found me on facebook.  But I finally did it and it was wonderful.  I’ve missed him but I didn’t realize how much until I heard his voice.  Yay!

Once the weather clears up (it’s currently raining - fucking Alabama) I’m going to take a picture in my bikini top.  Prepare yourselves for the whitest belly ever!