Monthly Archives: September 2015

The Mommy Stroke

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I haven’t been a “swimmer” for years; I’ve been more of a dunker and wader ~ I swam just to cool off and play with Mathew. On my last visit to Florida, I made a concerted effort to swim daily. Since I was spending so much time assisting and taking care of my folks, I decided I needed to take care of myself too and relieve some stress. In the past, I would walk everyday, but with 95° F and 100% humidity this time, swimming seemed like a better way to go.

When I was a kid, I was a rather good swimmer. At camp, I excelled during competitions and received a Red Cross Junior Life Savings certificate.  By the time I got to junior high, I found more interesting ways to spend my time and lost my passion for swimming.

Over the past 5 years Mike has started swimming again and is very good. His strokes seem effortless and he does wonderful flip-turns against the wall. We always applaud the turns. I never had a reason to learn to flip-turn since I always competed in lakes ~ there were no walls to turn on.

I started my laps with the crawl but my strokes did not feel effortless, and I had a hard time going straight. I was swimming diagonally across the pool. Interesting tangent: The crawl is now known as freestyle ~ they changed the name because it is the most common stroke used during a freestyle competition. Therefore, as a result the name of the stroke is used metonymically (a thing or concept that is not called by its own name but rather by the name of something it is associated with). So then, I tried the breaststroke, it felt much better but was not fun. I discovered that I love the backstroke and sidestroke. Perhaps, it was because I could see the world as I swam by and the strokes made me feel strong and glide through the water.

I always thought of the sidestroke as the “Mommy Stroke,” since you can swim and watch your kids at the same time. Or, perhaps it was the only stroke I ever recall my Mom using. I decided to Google it and found out that I must be the only one that calls it the Mommy Stroke. However, it is no doubt known as an efficient and low energy stroke compared to other strokes. It allows the swimmer to perform for longer periods of time without tiring. The Navy SEALs use an adapted sidestroke known as the Combat Sidestroke, but it is more involved than the Mommy Stroke.

I am happy to say that I was able to swim 280 yards a day alternating between the backstroke and the Mommy Stroke. It is a far cry from Mike’s 1000 yards a day but he is a “real swimmer” and I am just a Mommy 😉

Have you ever heard of the Mommy Stroke or did I just make it up? If so, please share.

 

 

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time

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Now the thing about time is that time isn’t really real. It’s just your point of view but it seems to control many aspects of our lives.

I have a very strange affliction; I am always on time – with very few exceptions. I do not even try; I’m simply wired that way. Even when I take my time, I’m on time or early. I tend to over estimate how much time it takes to do something. I will put a cushion of an extra five minutes in, just in case something crosses my path unexpectedly, but rarely need it. Even when I was a caseworker in the field, visiting clients in their homes all over Orange County, I was on time. This may seem challenging to some, since who knew what situation would arrive or what their needs were that day. Nevertheless, I was on time for my next appointment.  Once I became a Mom, I was given the grace of “Mommy Time,” so I was forgiven for any lateness. But, honestly, it rarely happened.  Funny, but one of the few times I was actually late, was on a first date, a blind date with the man who later became my husband. Nevertheless, it all worked out.

I can’t lie: I enjoy being on time, though I do not like to clock watch. I actually do not want time to dictate my life. I try my best at being in the moment. So how do I do it? Besides being wired this way, I have some tools that help me budget my time effectively. I’m not sure when I stopped wearing a watch and started using my cell phone for telling time, but I can tell you it has made quite a difference in my life. I actually use my cell phone for my alarm clock. Since, I don’t like to clock watch, I use the alarm to remind me that I need to change gears. I use it to wake up in the morning, remind myself to move on from a meeting or event, or simply that it’s time to meet Mathew’s bus. I love the relaxing music that emanates from my cell phone telling me that I need to move on.

Funny, I’m not a cell phone person, I rarely text or use our data plan. However, I’m not sure if I can live without its alarm clock. I find it extra helpful when we have a power outage as it always goes off on time, regardless.

What tools do you use to manage time? Please share and I will continue to share.