Swimmers

Dear Swimmers,

Oh? Haven’t you heard. I’m one of you now.

Yep, it’s true. I’m a swimmer.

Julie the Swimmer.

Swimmer Julie.

You see, the last letter I wrote … that was just Julie. But now, now … I am Swimmer Julie.

How, you ask? What prompted the change? Well, just a small, but exceedingly necessary item for can’thandlethechlorineinmyeyessinktothebottomeventhoughthehumanbodyissupposedlybouyant people like me:

Goggles!

Wow do these little buggers make all the difference! Thanks to the kind gift from my dear husband (and his REI dividend) I’m able to actually swim with my face in the water (instead of with a neck thrown back with fluttering eyelids trying to keep the water from getting in my eyes). AND I have no less fear of swimming into the wall, other swimmers, the lane ropes, buoys, anchors, and the like.


I’ve learned a lot in the many various two times that I’ve officially been swimming. Things like lane etiquette:

1.) When approaching a lane that is already in use by another swimmer, it’s proper to make some friendly attempt to acknowledge your desire to share the lane.
- “Mind if I swim here too?” works well.

2.) When sharing a lane, determine if you are going to go back and forth on the same side of the lane, or go ‘around’ – that is; down on one side, back on the other.
- NOTE TO SELF: always encourage separate sides! This way, you won’t feel the pressure to keep up with the other swimmer, and/or feel the defeat when they lap you. Twice. And they have about 4% body fat. And they have about 45 years on you.

Also as a Swimmer, I’ve learned that a “lap” is actually considered TWO lengths of the pool. Read: down AND back. This seems like hogwash to me, especially considering the fact that I have to stop at the end of each lap/length and take off my goggles to catch my breath.* Therefore, unless otherwise noted, the use of the word “lap” will future forward refer to the distance from one end of the pool to the other.

That being said, I swam 20 laps yesterday and 20 on Monday. It felt amazing! Certainly a more freeing, floating-on-air-like feeling than running. And if I was sweating, I wouldn’t know, because I washed right off me! My body is definitely feeling the effects of this new exercise – I’m sore in some -ahem- interesting places. But overall, I’m glad to finally be one of you.

Admirably,
Swimmer Julie

* This whole goggle thing is new for me.  While they're essential to seeing underwater, they are limiting in my out-of-water vision, and therefore cause me to feel claustrophobic and constrained.  So, when I come to the end of the lap (please see above for current definition of this word) to take a break, I feel an unavoidable need to whip off my goggles to catch my breath.  Unhindered. Also, it's a little weird to only see the bottom half of people when peering under water with said goggles. Usually I focus on peoples' faces, not their waists-and-below.

Google Images

Dear Google Images,

You inspire me.  No, not on a deep, meaning-of-life level.  More of a "that's beautiful", "what a good idea", and "I'd like to look at that everyday" kind of a way.  I've found that this searching and collecting is also a good antidote for wanderlust, oddly enough.

And I experience A LOT of wanderlust.

Especially on days like today when the dark morning came too soon, my job seems filled with little purpose and lots of annoyances, I'm not feeling especially productive or attractive, and that familiar pang of melancholy hits me everytime I look at someone's facebook or blog photo of some amazing, breathtaking place they've visited or lived. 


I usually allow myself a few minutes of self-pity for my seemingly tiny existence.



And then, if I'm still dwelling on it and have the time, I go the world wide web.  Google, specifically.



And find me some beauty....

Since it's technically spring, I've obviously been thinking about gardening lately.  This seems beautiful, but I have a feeling my actual garen will look a little more like this:

And then I begin googling for my two favorite things of late:

Birds!  (Retro, caricatures, to be specific) And fabric (and any craft project involving fabric):

Isn't this amazing?!  I think I'm going to attempt something like it ... I have a paned window waiting to be beautified.

Well, I suppose that's enough surfing for me today: time to face reality.

Your Inspiree,

@Julie

N.T. Wright

Dear Tom,

I'm digging your book.

Yes, I know you've written a lot of them.  I'm speaking specifically about the one on Galatians.  Good stuff my British chum, good stuff.

I was actually thinking about writing this letter/post a while ago, because I liked your book then too. But, I never got around to it because I was spending so much time reading your wonderful book.  (Okay, okay, about 4% of that last sentence is true .... the part about "not getting around to it" ...)

But I'm GLAD I didn't write this little post a few months ago because it would have looked a lot different than it does now.

Because, you see I liked your book then because I agreed with it. I thought I had you figured out then.  I figured that you fell in the same area on the spectrum of faith ... spirituality ... Christian doctrine ... Jesus-following .. that I did. You know the "area" I speak of: the generally reasonable, always unselfish, truly caring for others, abhorring judgement or criticism, only loving area.  So really, I thought that you agreed with me and therefore WE were right.  And thank goodness for reasonable, unselfish, loving people like us to keep all those other judgmental crazies in line and in orthodoxy.  Phew.

That was then.

And then Chapter 8 came along.

And I didn't feel like writing you a complimentary letter .... But then I did.

You remember the whole part about "being a slave to each other in love"?  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Tommy, but uh, that's not exactly p.c. around here.  Now, I know that you folks across the Atlantic might not be up on the latest fads here in the great US of A, but let me tell you, this business about "slave" isn't cool.  At all.  Have you seen the news lately??  I'm assuming you have because we're both so reasonable and intelligent - and we probably both get our global updates from the same reasonable and intelligent nonpartisan source.  Egypt?  Libya?  Tunisia?  Are any of these ringing bells?!  Slavery.  Essentially that's what these uprisings, protests, clashes, whatever-you-want-to-call-thems are all about!  These people have been oppressed (read: enSLAVEd) by power-hungry dictators for decades and are finally saying enough is enough: we deserve freedom.

So, as you can well imagine, I prickled a little when you decided to exegete some of Paul's exhortations to "Become one another's slaves (or servants) through love."  I was totally on board for the section leading up to this one (you remember, the one about freedom), but then you had to go and be all counter-cultural, offense-of-the-crossish on me and throw out words like slave and servant.  Ugh.

You see, I've had a really long day, week, year, going on four years now, and I really just needed some encouragement (I'm slowly realizing much like the word "gossip" often gets hidden behind words like "processing" and "venting"; "tickling one's ears" hides behind the much more acceptable: "encouragement".) Like the whole Freedom bit - that was encouraging.  But this whole considering-others, servants/slave-in-love stuff is just plain exhausting.  I don't really think I have capacity for it right now due to some significant life circumstances, not to mention it's absurdity.

And just when I had calmed myself down after your terribly offensive suggestion that I willingly make myself lower than someone to serve them amidst all the responsibilities and obstacles of my very important life, this terribly stubborn voice that sits deep within my soul decided to throw in its two cents:

it just might be true.  


stay open.


you've been set FREE to do this.



So, way to go, Tom.  Way to, you know, awaken the Spirit, speak the hard truth, not succumb to culturally accepted norms.  All things that people like you and I so admire. 


Your #1 Fan,
Julie