I swim for the sweet, timeless middle.
Where I count, and breathe, and glide.
Where, for a little while, I’m not a hassled mother, a stressed-out worker, a citizen of the modern world.
But just a creature, travelling through the water.
Breathing, gliding, weightless, at peace.
That sweet place requires hard work.
The journey is a struggle.
Me fighting myself.
But I always win.
1, this is feeling easy today. Nice and easy
2, yep, this is going to be a breeze
3, only three? God, it’s getting harder
4, keep going
5, tired today
6, not going to make it
7, maybe just swim 40
8, come on! Keep going
9, God, only nine!
10, this was a bad idea
11, too tired
12, keep going. Only eight more to hit 20
13, can’t be bothered
14, keep going
15, ugh
16, breathing feels a little easier, doesn’t it?
17, almost at 20
18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,
25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,
35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56,
57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66,
67, nearly there
68, feeling tired now
69, what’s my time?
70, keep going
71, ten more
72, push
73, come on
74, only six left
75, go
76, nearly there
77, come on
78, three more
79, so nearly there
80, done
