Amphibious Sanctuary

This post is in part dedicated to my friend Stephanie Jewett. Stephanie is the original search engine. A while back we were talking about the old skool rules of being quiet in a library. Stephanie...who really does have a degree in library science and is indeed a librarian...feels that the "rule" of being quiet in a library is inane and should be done away with. And I have to agree...there are places in most libraries set aside for silent study...so really, what is the point of "shhhusing" people? ...at least in the library....
I have been swimming since I can remember. Swimming lessons were a constant in my childhood. I even swam on the city swim team in junior high. I was never going to be Janet Evans, but I loved to swim. It came easy...in fact it came so easy (well except the butterfly stroke...I just cannot coordinate the dolphin kick with the butterfly arms) that I assumed swimming was just something that everyone knew how to do...I have since found that many, many people do not really know how to swim. However, I digress. What I have always loved...even as a child going to swim lessons at the YMCA, was the feel of the indoor pool. I love the smell of the chlorine, the moisture in the air, the feel of the cement on my bare feet. There is nothing like that initial contact of water on skin as you enter the pool...whether a dive, or a splash...I love it. Indoor or outdoor...but there is something I find so calming about an indoor pool. If I am just swimming for fun with friends, hanging out at the pool...then outdoor is the place to be, but for my laps...I prefer the indoors...the tabernacle of H2O.

Unfortunately, not everyone feels that way, and the other night my watery solace was irreverently interrupted. I was at a rec center doing laps. It was about 9:00pm when I began. I love doing laps in the evening. There is not the distraction of "open swim" and I can focus simply on my workout. However, there are the occasional pool patrons who decide that they are going to pretend to swim laps, so they can stay at the pool past "open plunge". It drives me bonkers. They are loud and obnoxious and distracting. They are not really doing laps, they are taking up precious lane space and even getting in my way at times.

One of the reasons I like to swim in the evenings rather than the mornings (besides the obvious LOATHING to get out of bed) is that in the evenings it is calming and quiet. I like to hear the soft echos of the water, the tempered splashing of a swimmers freestyle or back stroke across the pool. As I glide back and forth across my lane (ok so it probably is not that graceful) I can think about things, work out issues in my head, plan my week, etc. (this is what I like about walking and running alone). For me, an indoor pool is really a sacred place. I am not trying to be sacrilegious...it just is what it is.

The other night, however, that was not the case. As I was doing my laps I was getting so perturb about the noise these kids were making (not to mention they really were getting in the way). The water is a calming place for me, so I was able to continue my workout, but not without irritation. As I swam back and forth I found myself wishing there were pool rules about being quiet after a certain time. My thoughts turned to the conversation I had with Stephanie. The "shush" does not need to be a rule in the library anymore...we are beyond that...I do think, however, that it is time to take the "shush!" rule out of the library and into the pool. Voices echo in the indoor pool, and are amplified (which is not at all the case in a library). This is not to say I am against having a good time while swimming...during open swim yell and shout all splash, etc...all you want. But during my lap swim..please...SHUSH! Let me swim my laps in the sanctity and peace of that aquatic cathedral.