Swimming at 35

I went swimming yesterday, and well, let's just say this body ain't what it used to be.

We arrived to see a four foot pool wrapped up with a nice, high fence. Already I like it. More than that, the pool was tucked away in the woods of Oklahoma on some land that only the airmen from the local air base could see in, that is, if they looked out the AWACS as it flew over.

However, this was no ordinary four foot pool. No, this one came with a 10 foot slide. Do you know how many years it's been since I went down a water slide? Let me rephrase. Do you know how many pounds it's been since I went down a water slide? About 20. Years too. But, I couldn't resist.

First one: by myself, on my butt. wee!!
Second one: I grabbed Monkey, we went down, I flopped the left side of my face on the water as we hit so her face wouldn't go in. But... it did. Sorry Monkey.

Oh, there were more.

This pool belong to my friend Janna's in-laws, so she knows the ropes of this slide. We're bobbin' around in the water, looking like moms, loving on Monkey in her little floaty, when the kids want us to try the "on-your-back-head-first-into-the-water-slide".

"Oh kids, we can't do that!" Well, Janna did.

I watched her climb the stairs, step onto the platform, sit down and begin the yoga moves to, first, get backward, and then second, lie back. A few adjustments with the swimsuit, a few wiggles of the hiney, slowly lie down and...

"AHHHH!!" squeeeeek! ooph! splash!

I laughed so hard watching her come down that slide! Of course, we watch the wee ones slide down gleefully into the water, and our inner spirits, our inner us who doesn't age, figures we can do the same thing.

nar nar

Janna decides I need a turn. "Oh, no. Really. I'm watching the baby."

Up the stairs I go. Sit down. Turn around. Pick a bale of cotton.

The sitting down was the easy part. Luckily, some other older person was thinking because there were some handles on either side of the slide to grip on to. I held tight and leaned back slowly. Seeing as how it was a slide that faced east and the sun was at about 10:45, it was beaming down as to taunt me and to make fun of me and to throw me a curve. Not only was I trying to lie on my back, head first down a slide, I couldn't see a darn thing.

I flattened onto the slide, stretched my arms as far as they could go, craned my neck around to see if I could get one more look. Cutting through the sunlight was a few bobbing heads in the glittering water. Janna yells, "Come on, Nat! You can do it!"

My life, well, more like my day flashed before my eyes. If I got hurt how was I going to get home? What if I busted my back at the end of the slide and bruised? What if I just looked stupid? Well, that was a given.

Another voice, "You have to let go!"

Right.

At this point, my body is practically half way down, so letting go is simply letting gravity take the rest of me into the pool. I do it.

I remember screaming, "Oh, help me Jesus!" as my body skidded a little where the water couldn't quite make it up the side of the slide, then I bounced, er flopped off the end, and went flailing into the water.

Now, here's the thing. Had I done that same thing at, oh 15 or even 18 years of age, I doubt I would have "felt" the entire experience. The body just doesn't really behave like my spirit wants it to. It hurt a little and I'm sure I looked like what I thought I looked like, but hey, what's a little bump and loss of dignity when you're having fun!

Next time, I'll do it again, and then maybe try something crazy like handstands under water.