By The Sea

Well, it has taken me a few days to realize it but summer is upon us. It's the time of the year when Canadians everywhere fit out their RVs or trailers or campers and head to the bush for weeks of mosquito munching fun.  As a child summer meant long trips to my grandmother's and grandfather's house where we would spend dreamy days on the local sandy beach body surfing in the crashing waves and re-diverting the brook that meandered behind the beach and eventually crossing the sand to the ocean waters. I would spend hours with my cousin playing in the water that entered the ocean from the brook because there and only there did the brook water mingling with the ocean currents make the temperature anywhere near bearable. The water of our local beach was cold... really cold but we still managed to have a wonderful time in the shallows swimming with the jelly fish.

My first swim suit that I can remember was a green two piece and I was really proud of it... it looked good on me... I looked great.

When I got older this did not appeal quite as much... I began doing what every other person it seems likes to do. I started camping. Swimming was still a large part of it because usually you would camp by some lake where you would tear down to the waters edge with your boyfriend at midnite to frolic in the cool depths.

I remember a yellow swim suit passed down to me from my sister and then a navy blue one with white that to this day reminds me of Jackie Kennedy... I don't really know why.

Then I moved to Ontario and camping became canoeing... and still I swum. We would grab the canoe on hot days and paddle to the nearest island (and there were plenty) where we would promptly remove our clothes for a skinny dip in the warm waters and cool ourselves down also taking our skin off the market for the abundant clouds of mosquitoes and black flies. As long as we were in the water we would not need deet.

Then I had a miserable bikini in a orange and purple multi colourway... Ick!

Then I moved here and was pleased to discover that though we lived next to a unswimable river there was a local outdoor pool for our amusement. The kids were little and so Teapot would stay in bed each morning as  rolled out of bed and head for the pool. An hour to swim and then home for breakfast. Soon the girls were old enough to come too... and so we all went swimming. After years of this we moved a little further out of town and I find that I have lost my interest in swimming daily. Occasionally when I can stand the heat and sweat no longer I will convince Teapot to load up the canoe and the kayaks and we head to the Cameron Lake School Centre for an evening of water activities and hot dogs on the fire... but we don't do that often.  Somehow, somewhere I have lost my summer need to submerge myself in water.

After that I remember a lime green bikini, and a black and white polka dotted bikini, after that there was a red one piece....

I never took official swim lessons... I learned the old way.... trial and error. First I learned to float... and that was in the shallows of a beach off the coast of Massachusetts. Then I learned to doggie paddle in the waters of a swimming pool where my father insisted we go each Sunday for a couple of years in my very young youth. Then I learned to spread my arms and do the breast stroke in the waters of that local beach by my grandfather's house.... where I also eventually learned to body surf. Soon I was diving and swimming under the water and acting more otter than human. I love swimming... and I miss it dreadfully.

Then there were numerous black one pieces... and now I have this aqua blue strappy one piece that probably is too small.

Yesterday I splurged... I bought a season pass to the swimming pool here and have decided that a swim a day would do me good. Adult swim to be exact... 6:30 -7:30 p.m.

Now I just have to get a swimsuit to fit... like pulling teeth that will be!