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Saturday, June 15, 2002
Fun in the sun.
I've marked this date on my calendar. Today, June 15, 2002 was my first
swimming lesson. 
Manoa Pool
The site of my first
swimming lesson
For
years, decades even, I've had this terrible phobia about getting in water that
was deeper than chest-level. Borne out of a frightening near-drowning
experience as a child, I've had this mental block about learning how to swim
ever since. I had resigned myself to being a non-swimmer for the rest of my
life, leaving the water sports to the aquatic types. Until recently. Something
just clicked in my head. After seeing Eric's
beautiful underwater
photos of Kona and Maui, I was inspired. I wanted to see the wonders of
the ocean for myself -- with my own eyes. In order to do that, I realized that
I must first learn how to swim. Inspiration gave way to motivation, motivation
led to excitement and excitement paved the way for the overcoming of my fears.
I was anxious to
start my swimming lessons all week, but when it came down to it today I found
butterflies fluttering about my tummy. My bladder was also on overdrive and I
had to use the restroom about three times during the short period that we
waited for the pool to open and class to start. After
we introduced ourselves to the class, they released us to get changed into our
swimsuits. Everyone already had their swimsuits on, but I took that time to
use the bathroom one last time. By the time I came back out, everyone was
already in the pool doing bobs. Flustered, I looked around anxiously for Joyce
and Kyle, my companions in this endeavor. Hubby was ushering me in the right
direction with one hand and holding the camera in the other. I lowered myself
into the pool next to Joyce and she caught me up on what I had missed. Putting
my face into the chlorinated water for the first time in a long time didn't
come easily. I fought to quell the troubled feeling in my stomach and blew
bubbles the best way I knew how. Expelling all of my air in a single blast
that lasted about 2 seconds, I soon found myself with a nose full of water. I
had to take a moment to compose myself before proceeding. The instruction was
to do 10 bobs. I think I did 5 at most. Luckily, the instructors weren't
counting. We
moved on to kicks and I started feeling a little more at ease. All of a
sudden, I started feeling more comfortable in the water. I was awfully brave
as I held on to the edge of the pool, doing my flutter kicks as if I actually
knew what I was doing. After
doing more kicks and another round of bobs, we took to the kickboards. They
instructed us to swim to the other side of the pool with our kickboards using
our newly acquired flutter-kicking skills.  With
my head above water and holding on to the kickboard the entire time, I made it
across the short end of the pool. My confidence level was starting to grow.
For perhaps the first time in my life I thought to myself, "I can
really do this. I can learn how to swim!"
The
rest of the class period flew by way too quickly. I was really starting to
enjoy myself. Something had definitely clicked. I was no longer afraid of the
water. I felt comfortable and at ease. It was the strangest feeling. I
had thoughts of snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, kayaking around the Na Pali Coast,
scuba diving off of Maui... It suddenly felt as if all of these things that
were a virtual impossibility was finally now within my reach. If you had told
me six months ago that I would aspire to do these things I would have laughed
you out the door. Funny how a single moment can totally change your
perspective and attitude about things. I guess that's what they call an
epiphany. 
After
our swimming class, Hubby and I went to lunch at a nearby Korean BBQ. They had
Bubble drinks available, so I jumped at the chance to reward myself for
managing to get through my first swimming class without being traumatized. 
Sunday, June
16, 2002. 
Fun in the sun!
(l to r) Pililani, Anonymous Kikaida Hubby, Piikea For
father's day, Hubby's family planned a picnic at Kaaawa Beach Park. I
was in the water for about 3 hours, getting accustomed to the feeling of being
in the ocean again. The salt water tends to sting my eyes and I realized
that's something that I need to get over, especially if I intend to start
doing more things in the ocean. I practiced flutter-kicking, bobbing,
backfloats, and dead man's float. Hubby also coached me into gliding
underwater, which surprisingly enough came quite naturally. The only big
problem that I have is breathing. I guess we'll get to that later. I
know I won't go from total newbie swimmer to Olympic swimmer overnight. Baby
steps. I
am making great progress and I'm happy with how far I've come with my attitude
and fear factor in a short period of time since I put my mind to
learning how to swim. I'm looking forward to making big splashes in the days
ahead... ©
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