August 22, 2017

Gone swimming

As I've mentioned before, I'm not a swimmer. I know how to swim, but I just don't enjoy it--feeling wet and cold after getting out of the pool, or unsure of what's under the water in a lake. I wish I liked it more! But I hadn't been swimming since I went with Andrea, and I think that was probably in December?

Anyway, I happened to swim not once, but twice last weekend. On Friday, Becky (my sister-in-law) and Luke (my nephew, who is five months old) met my mom and me at the Rec center to go swimming. I was actually really looking forward to it, because I was excited to see Luke swim! My sister bought him an odd-looking flotation device for infants (it's basically a float ring that goes around their neck).

I hate buying bathing suits, and the one that I had for a while was getting SO worn and kind of baggy; so, last year, I bought a new one online, identical to the old one, in the same size. My weight was up last year, and when I did try it on, I discovered it was too small. The old one was so worn that it accommodated my weight gain, but the new one was, well, new. I tucked it in my drawer and hoped that I'd be able to wear it this summer (in the chance that I did go swimming).

Anyway, all of this is just to say that it fits! I was able to wear it to the pool, and it fit me well. And funnily enough, Becky was actually wearing the same suit! hahaha.

Luke was adorable in the water. The water was really cold, so I thought he would start crying immediately, but he was totally content. I don't think I've ever even seen him cry--he gets a little fussy when he wants to eat, but that's it. Brian and Becky are super laid back, though, and I think that Luke is taking cues from them.

I walked around the pool with him for a while, and then Becky put the float on him. I was cracking up, because it looks so uncomfortable, but Luke really loves it. He was kicking his legs, making razzing noises with his tongue, and then he just floated on his back like he was relaxing on the beach with a drink or something.


(Note that this is not just a regular inner tube. It's made especially for babies, and the inner part of the ring is designed to keep them from slipping through.)

We were in the pool for an hour and a half, and Luke enjoyed every moment of it. I was shocked! It was so fun to play with him in the pool.

On Saturday, I drove up to Chelsea (about an hour's drive) to have tea with Emily (a blog reader that I met last year and have become friends with). She was in town to see her boyfriend, and it was on the way to where I was going to meet up with friends for the day. A lot has happened since the last time we got together (March?), so it was great to catch up.

From Chelsea, it was only about another 20 minutes to get to my friends' Eric and Maris's cottage. Eric's parents own a cottage (which is actually a pretty large house) on a lake, and every year, Eric and Maris invite all of our high school friends to go and hang out for the weekend. Jerry and I weren't able to stay the weekend, but we spent the day on Saturday.

Shortly after we got there, we all went out on the pontoon boat. I didn't wear my bathing suit because I didn't plan on swimming; but after a few hours, I really had to go to the bathroom, so I decided to put my suit on while I was in the house. The pontoon boat was anchored, so my friend Paul used a stand-up paddle board to row me in to the shore. I have terrible balance, so I didn't even attempt to stand up (although one day I would really like to try it!). I was so sure I was going to tip us over, but we managed to get to the shore.


I changed into my suit, and when we got back to the boat, I got in the water. It was surprisingly warm, and I stayed in for a while until my fingers started to get wrinkled. It was quite a sight to see everyone in the lake with their floats ;)


I felt a little awkward because I was the only one not drinking, but I'm starting to get used to that now. I didn't completely quit, but I could count on one hand the number of drinks I've had in the last 4-5 months. Now, I just prefer not to--which is odd to me! Even after one drink, I could feel my heart racing, my anxiety get sky high, and I would feel puffy/bloated. I'm not sure if that's typical, or if it has something to do with my medication; but regardless, I hated that feeling enough to choose not to drink. It has saved a lot of calories and a lot of money, so I'm happy about that :)

Now that I think about it, I saw a lot of friends in the last few days. Aside from Emily and my high school friends, I went for a walk with Andrea yesterday morning. I hadn't seen her in a long time, and we got to catch up. And yesterday evening, I met my friend Jenni for frozen yogurt. (We finally got a Menchies nearby! We used to have to drive 45 minutes to get self-serve frozen yogurt.)

It's been a fun-filled week :)

12 comments:

  1. That baby floatation looks scary...I totally thought he would fall through..glad you said he couldn't. ha!

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  2. It looks like you had a great time! I don't drink anymore either and it is kind of weird sometimes in different social settings. But you are right, the benefits outweigh feeling a little different.

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  3. That baby is just the most adorable!! I love that your brother and sister-in-law have him in the water already. My sister was a certified lifeguard and swim instructor for years, and I remember that she loved getting the babies in the water. :)

    That lake looks beautiful--and fun! The unicorn float is TOTALLY cracking me up!! :p

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    1. Becky actually was a lifeguard/swim instructor, too! She even dunks Luke under water, and he loves it. I never would have guessed!

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  4. I've been on psych meds in the past, and drinking usually IS contraindicated while you're on them. My therapist told the rule of thumb is that 1 drink = 2 drinks if you're on meds. I decided just to give it up, too--not really a big deal to me either.

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  5. Menchies is our favorite!!!

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  6. Love love love that swimsuit!! I have been looking for one like that for ages, where did you get it?

    As for the drinks, your not alone, i used to drink all the time at social events, or even when i used to go on weekend tubing trips, now i barely finish 1 glass of wine every few weekends, it makes me jittery!!!

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    Replies
    1. I bought it on the Target website. I couldn't remember where I bought the original one, and the tag was so faded that I couldn't see. I did some google searching and found it at Target!

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  7. Sounds like a great time spent and love the pictures.

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  8. I've looked at those baby floats before, they look so strange but my baby loves water so I wonder if he would like it. He is super picky about cold water though so I don't know where he would swim right now. He got upset at an 85 degree pool on a hundred degree day last month. And we live in Alaska so he is going to have to get used to the cold soon!

    I wanted to thank you for sharing your one second video clips. I have been working on one since my three month old kiddo was born and I love it! It's so cute! Such a great idea!

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    1. I think that's so cool you've been doing the videos since your baby was born! I recently started the huge project of doing a one-second video of my kids from when they were born until now, just by using all the videos that I've taken over the years. I'm excited to watch them grow in the matter of 5-10 minutes of film.

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  9. I don't drink very often either. (Maybe a glass of wine every once in a while.) I am with you and a couple other commenters - the benefits outweigh the social awkward for me. The challenge I've had in social settings is people asking me if I'm not drinking because I'm pregnant. Um, no? Thanks for asking though.

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