King's Daughter's Kitchen

I would like water to float me away instantly. In my mind, I go back to the lakes of the Michigan mitten of my childhood. I swim physically, but I swim a lot mentally, too. I imagine that I’m floating on my back, staring at the sky, pretending I hear nothing when traffic stinks, base is booming in my ear and shaking my van from the car next to me, and I can’t breathe from the garbage truck exhaust ahead.

Frustrating moments of adulting make me long for the silence and calm of water. I need the pond or the city pool, if it’s cold. Swimming, letting go of emotional and physical  weight, is good therapy for my soul. Whether I am alone or with friends in the water, I can feel ugly washing away, and it is good.