Writing in the Pool

One of my summer commitments was to swim each day for 20 minutes. (Thank you for the idea, P.) Somehow this challenge stretched past September and into October. (I probably missed a total of ten days.)  Now when I say swim, I’m being very generous. What I do does not even remotely resemble the stuff they did in the pools (and rivers) of Paris this past summer. It’s more like a scene out of the movie Cocoon minus the bathing caps. I call it aquasizing with a side of creative writing.

I like to say that I haven’t been bored since I was seven years old. This pastime, however, could have easily gone that route if I hadn’t found a way to “write in the pool.” I’d think about ideas for posts, or if I already had an idea going, I would work on how to improve it. (The challenge there was remembering when I got out of the pool.)

This “summer” thing turned a lot more challenging when October rolled around because now the pool is no longer a balmy 86 degrees. This is especially ironic since I recently contemplated one of those Cold-Water Plunges that are all the health rage. If you’re not familiar, it’s a big barrel filled with 40-50 degree water in which you submerge yourself. Proponents say this “cold therapy” can help muscles recover, improve mood, boost metabolism, reduce inflammation, and more. For me, it would be just another effort to help my “maturing” skin. Alas, who knew my cold plunge tolerance was 78 degrees?

So now that the summer challenge is (thankfully) coming to an end, I must find a new activity to spark my creative juices. According to Bruce Springsteen, writing is magic – you simply take something out of the air and make it physical. If that’s so, I suppose any activity will suffice. I’m thinking lying on the lounge chair sounds good.