Swimmer's Grin

 

“M’am? …..M’am??....Hello????”

I’m shivering on the deck beside the Dive Tank. Grin as the lifeguard tries to get super swimmer lady to stop. She won’t.

            “M’am!” He’s a bit more forceful this time. She stops. Looks up at him.

            “It’s time,” he informs. Like she didn’t know. But maybe she didn’t. She was really into her laps!

            

We’d been swimming together in the Dive Tank for the last 45 minutes. She lapped me about ever 20 laps? (It’s hard to tell in the Dive Tank.) But she was a bit faster than me. Even with my fins on.

            Now, as she pulled herself out of the Tank, she grinned at me, a distinct difference from when we had gotten in. I’d said “Hi”. She’d glared at me. Or maybe she had said “Hi” back and I just hadn’t heard her behind the muffled mask that is our world now.

            Recently, Ian had just been talking about this not understanding what anyone is saying anymore behind their masks. He’d been at the Vietnamese restaurant, picking up our #56, Ginger Chicken with garlic rice and extra broccoli. The young woman who always serves us had chatted with him. He didn’t understand her except that she was saying something about not going on vacation. Which he could nod and agree with. But other than that, he was just nodding. Not understanding. Not really having a conversation or communicating.

            It’s our world now.

            Except when you get out of the pool. We don’t have our masks on. Yet. And, so tonight, when super swimmer woman grinned over at me, I grinned back. We could see each other’s grins. It was communication that was unique to the pool. I took advantage.

            “It’s hard to get out,” I offered, trying vainly to dry off in the dark windy night.

            “Yeah, it is,” she agreed. Then she glanced over at where the lifeguard had gone to start pulling on the pool covers. “Hey, do you know how many laps in the Dive Tank make a mile?”

            He looked at her blankly. “No, not really,” he muttered,  before continuing his arduous task.

            “I asked the same question the other night,” I said. “The lifeguard just laughed at me and said, ‘It’s not really made for swimming laps’!”

            Super Swimmer was also trying to pull on her sweats over her wet suit. “I did 172 laps tonight but my Fitbit said I did 44!”

            Here we are. Slaves to our devices. And they’re wrong! “Well, maybe it just counts how many times you turned around?” But as I said this, I knew this couldn’t be right. She had to have turned around over 300 times! Maybe Fitbit doesn’t count up that far with lap swimming? I have no clue. I only wear my Fitbit for counting my steps. But with the Dive Tank, I have sorta given up counting. Even though all athletes count! Swimmers count their laps. Runners count their miles. Bikers count their miles. It’s a serious athlete thing. And Fitbit cashed in on it.

            “I guess we could walk it out,” I offer. “You know, measure out the long pool and then this Dive Tank and see what the difference is…..” My voice trailed off. This seemed plausible on the surface but in reality, probably not. “Though we never have that much time when we come here under the strict 45-minute time limit!”

            She laughs. “Yeah, but that’s a good idea. Maybe I’ll try that next time. In the regular pool I usually swim 80-85 laps. So, it’d be interesting to see how that translates to this pool.”

            I yank my big fuzzy coat on over my wet towel wrapped around my waist. I haven’t figured out yet whether it’s better to put my pants back on over my wet suit or to just leave the wet towel wrapped around me. Oh, for a hot shower at the pool! Then being able to change into dry clothes. Gosh, we took so much for granted.

            “Maybe I’ll see you next time,” I say to her. “I try for three times a week, but I often don’t make it that much. It’s hard.”

            “Really?” she says. “I am swimming more since the Pandemic. Before I was swimming 2 times a week but now, I’m doing 3 or 4.”

            “Wow, that’s great. I am swimming less. I was swimming 4-5 times a week and now it’s only 2-3.”

            We both laugh. “I never swam 5 times a week!” she exclaims, grinning ear to ear. The ‘Swimmer’s Grin’ as Julianne calls it. It’s still true. Even in the night. Even after over 300 turns in the Dive Tank. Even during the Pandemic.

            Swimming. There’s nothing like it.

            Now if we could only figure out how many laps are a mile in the Dive Tank!