swimming

60 Happens

~ MaryG ~ 21 Comments

Lo and behold, I’m able to answer today’s daily prompt! (Typically I see a message saying that I have already answered the daily prompt, as I’ve been blogging regularly for well over a year now.)

How do you waste the most time every day?

The big news is that I started this blog when I turned 50 and named it accordingly, but the seasons…they go round and round…and now I’m 60.

And, I’m still wasting far too much time looking at social media. I’ve even added TikTok to my repertoire. Oy.

But here’s what I’m going to try to stop wasting so much time on this decade: controlling situations and worrying about outcomes. I’m really REALLY going to try to live in the moment more. I want to enjoy my life.

Stephanie’s terrific response about worry reminded me that just recognizing when you’re fretting is a step in the right direction.

From the moment we get a positive pregnancy test to the day we die, moms will worry about their kids, but the active “molding” phase of that job is over for me. I can relax. I’ve told my kids everything I think they should know. We got them all the shots, hosted all the birthday parties, went to all the games, helped with all the homework, paid all the tuition bills. We did good! If I die tomorrow, they will be fine.

So, as a first step, here’s three things I enjoyed recently:

  1. Swimming outside – my outdoor lap pool is open for the season and how lucky am I that I get to swim in a nice, warm, sun-filled lap lane?
  2. Strawberries 🍓- It’s strawberry season here and they are delicious.
  3. Books – I got a free Audibles subscription for two months and have started listening to books, which is a very different experience. I find that memoirs read by the author are especially good, because they know exactly which words to emphasize! (Currently listening to Molly Jong-Fast’s new book: “How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir”)

Final thought: hating DJT and everything he represents and does has been a pretty major feature of the past ten years for me. In order to enjoy my life more, I need to somehow let that go a bit. My feeling is that maybe by staying involved in my church (which is full of activists), I can feel like I’m doing something without letting the political situation make me feel hopeless. Would love any tips that other like-minded people may have about this.

Massachusetts farmstand strawberries

Outdoor swimming season

~ MaryG ~ 3 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite season of year? Why?
View all responses

This is an easy one for me. I’ve been at the outdoor pool every day that it’s been open since Memorial Day weekend. Starting this week, it’s open every day. The lifeguards are mostly high school students and the seniors are out for summer. Woo hoo!

That’s “my” lap lane in the foreground of the photo.

Related post:

Summer is our glory

Summer

The JCC Pool

Oases for all

Hello Summer

~ MaryG ~ 8 Comments

Who would you like to talk to soon?

Not who, what.

Summer.

And the wait is over. It’s here. It starts today. It’s the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and it’s going to be in the 80s.

I’m registered for an afternoon slot at my outdoor pool. I’ll get to swim laps and read my book outside today.

Our current book group selection. I need to finish it by Wednesday.

I cleaned (really scrubbed!) my porch yesterday. It’s looking good and is temporarily pollen-free.

My May delivery from BloomsyBox is spectacular and perfectly pink for summer.

Oh, and it’s Gemini season. My time has come.

Hello Summer.

😄 💓 ♊️ ☀️ 🏊 🌸 😎

Related post:

Monthly delights

Summer is our Glory in New England

Summer Reading

I like my porch

The JCC Pool

~ MaryG ~ 9 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
View all responses

I gained a lot of weight both times I was pregnant. I was healthy—just large. I was especially huge with my son who was over nine pounds at birth.

Throughout the pregnancy, I swam laps at the local JCC (Jewish Community Center). Typically, there were a few senior citizens in the pool with me. One day, an old man flagged me down to tell me that I “swam like a fish” and was “svelte.” I was astonished and said something about being very pregnant. He said “you don’t look pregnant at all,” then added “from the back.” I was so flattered.

So an old man was looking at my ass while I was swimming and I was completely fine with it. In fact, he made my day. 🤷‍♀️

Image from Pexels

Oases (Oasises?) for All

~ MaryG ~ 2 Comments
The pool at One Dalton, Boston

How would you design the city of the future?

For about six months in 2019 and 2020 (pre-pandemic), I was able to swim laps in Boston’s fanciest new building – One Dalton Street. It’s both a Four Seasons Hotel and a very expensive condo building, all in one deluxe skyscraper.

At that time, the condos were still under construction, but the hotel was open, so management kindly let people who lived or worked in the neighborhood use the fitness center. They didn’t advertise this — I just happened to ask, so I typically had the whole pool to myself. The occasional hotel guest would come and go.

The light-filled pool area has a gentle arc and sweeping view of Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood and Christian Science Plaza. The locker rooms have complimentary everything – from cucumber water, to fluffy white robes and the thickest emery boards I’ve ever seen. It’s a true urban oasis. After swimming, showering and pampering there, I would drive home in a relaxed state.

I knew it wouldn’t last, so I tried to enjoy it. But I never thought a virus would be the thing that ended it!

Anyway, in my fantasy City of the Future, everyone would have access to an oasis like this.

It’s 64 feet – long enough to swim laps