50+ Lifestyles

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

By Eloise Graham

The Quad City Senior Olympics celebrated its 29th Anniversary last month.

I participated in the Senior Olympics last month. It was the 29th year for the event here in the Quad Cities. I entered in the literary venue. I do write this column almost every month, but I don’t really consider myself a writer, an author. It is really something more of a hobby. Sometimes people tell me they like what they read, other times someone will say they liked one month better than another. I do it for fun and enjoyment. I don’t think of myself as an exceptional writer or a perfectionist in grammar. I was surprised when a friend and mentor prodded me into entering a literary piece. But I did do it, on a whim, just to have fun.

The following is my entry. There are many
parallels between this writing experience now and the swim meet of my teen years. The message is the same. Stay active, step out of the comfort zone and enjoy being alive as long as you can.

The Swim Meet – A Life Lesson

As a young tyke, I spent a lot of time at our municipal pool. My older sister would often take me with her and her friends to spend the afternoon. I was only four, five and six at those times. She and her friends were teenagers and didn’t seem to mind if I tagged along. The pool had a merry-go-round, a water wheel, long S-shaped slide, a rain mushroom and some other features that I don’t recall. After playing in the shallow and mid-depth areas, I learned the art of spreading out my towel to sunbathe and watch the older swimmers at the diving boards. I was not allowed in the deep end, but I could watch the others swim and dive there.

At ages seven through eleven, I spent almost every weekday afternoon there. In the mornings I took American Red Cross swim lessons, learning the basics. Eventually, I was teaching the basics to youngsters. I say “the basics” because I taught myself the sidestroke and front crawl by watching others. Those two strokes became my favorites. Later I learned that I was doing the scissor kick for the sidestroke inverted. My arm stroke span was too wide and my legs were doing my adaptation of the whip-kick and frog kick for the front crawl.

By my teenage years, I considered the pool my second home. Mornings I would take Junior or Senior Life Saving, or teach classes to the little ones. Afternoons were for swimming games and sunbathing. And an occasional evening I would even go. It was quieter, less crowded in the evenings and a great way to cool of on the really mugging Kansas nights.

It was the summer between my sophomore and junior year that one of the lifeguards asked if I would like to be in a swim meet. Now, I didn’t consider myself a competitive person or an excellent swimmer, but I was mildly intrigued. Steve, the lifeguard, told me that the local County Club swim team would be competing against other clubs in that area of our state. The main rival was the town 24 miles to the north. They had a full team and our town didn’t. My objections were that I didn’t belong to the Country Club, I had never been in a meet and I didn’t know anything about a racing dive. Steve assured me he could coach me and get me a temporary guest pass for the Country Club. So, with emotions of fear, doubting and excitement, I agreed.

The training began. I don’t remember if it was only a week or three weeks that I had to prepare. I had somewhat stepped out of my comfort zone – not the swimming part, but the competing, having an audience, knowing that I would probably be last in everything. However, it was exhilarating to have made that decision and try something new.

The day of the meet arrived. I had conquered the racing dive, practiced the turn-around wall kick and learned that orange juice and honey were the mainstay meals that day. I am not for sure where I place in the Austrian crawl, sidestroke, or backstroke, but I wasn’t last. I was having fun. Then it was time for the freestyle. My go-to stroke had always been the front crawl. That was what I did. I was enjoying myself. The race was over and my name was called for first place. What a shock to me. It was also a shock to Steve, and others at the meet. I learned, after the fact, that the front crawl is never used in freestyle because it is a slow stroke. Glad I didn’t know that before!

The lesson I learned: Step out of your comfort zone. Enjoy life and all of its challenges. Don’t enter into situations with preconceived ideas. Do your best and have fun. You will come out a winner every time.