Ode to Swimming and How I Love Thee
Ode to Swimming (and How I Love Thee)
Ode to swimming,
And how I love thee.
You’re all I can think about,
Once that calender hits June.
Even though I’m a Virgo,
And supposed to love the earth,
There’s something about the water,
that makes me go bezerk.
The second I see the pool gates,
I wiggle like a labrador with a bone.
Even dipping my toes into the teal coolness,
Makes me feel like I’ve come home.
Like my fellow Pond Critters,
I also have a confession.
Since I was small,
In the pool I’ve pretended I was a dolphin.
I dive deep under,
flipping my feet and kicking my legs like a tail,
I stream across the pool floor.
With my pink goggles,
I wind around flailing flippers and inner tubes,
ignoring people’s curious stares.
For you see, as long as I’m in the water, I don’t care.
Personally, I blame it all on Ocean Girl.
Ben too, shares my love of swimming,
In fact, it was one of our first dates.
We spent hours in college swimming in the Baylor pool,
Going down the water slide,
Floating around the lazy river,
And leaping back and forth from the icy hot tub to the cool pool.
In the ocean or in the Lake,
A river or a Pond.
Off a boat or a dock,
Beach, pool or a log.
It doesn’t matter where I swim,
Or what’s in the water below.
From nibbling minnows to water snakes,
Seaweed or shells,
The only thing that matters,
is the freedom to swim as I please.
(As long as there’s no sharks or other scary things.)
Ode to swimming,
and how I love thee.
Just being in the water,
Makes me feel free.
And as long as the sun shines,
And the days stay long,
Once the work day ends,
You can find me heading to pool,
for some underwater fun.
Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have a new Coconut Queen! Thursday we’ve got a new recipe and Friday, a new Twirl! And don’t forget about Whitney, our latest Creative Woman of the Pond Saturday! Stay tuned!
June 30th, 2009 at 3:19 am
Will you come do my nanny job for the summer please? I hate taking the kids swimming and the Mom always wants me to…argh!
June 30th, 2009 at 3:48 am
love it!! I just long for sunshine instead of all of this rain!
June 30th, 2009 at 4:04 am
ooohhh fun!
Doggie paddle races at 3
June 30th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Wow…you REALLY like to swim, don’t you?! LOL! I love it too. It makes me feel like a kid again…you weren’t the only “dolphin” out there! Happy Tuesday!
June 30th, 2009 at 4:35 am
Meet ya at the pool!
June 30th, 2009 at 5:09 am
You are so much fun! Lets hang out.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:15 am
Very cute post. I love swimming too, but never get to swim in a pool and that’s my favorite.
-FringeGirl
June 30th, 2009 at 5:31 am
I don’t enjoy swimming, sorry =( I don’t like water, but I did force myself to do a triathlon, but I think the swimming part may prevent me from doing it again.
BUT, you two are so adorable!
June 30th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Do you scuba dive? If you don’t you need to try it! I always try to swim with a school of fish, and I too feel the need to do a little dolphin swimming.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:44 am
I love how you put pictures throughout your poem. Makes me want to go to the ocean or swim or something
June 30th, 2009 at 5:50 am
I just found your blog!! I love how cheery and up-beat it is!! I will definitely be hanging around the archives today!!
June 30th, 2009 at 5:55 am
Ahh! We are soooooo meant to be friends, my dear! I’m a water baby myself. I LOVE the beach more than any person should and just last weekend spent an insane amount of money on pool floaties! Ahhh, summer….
June 30th, 2009 at 6:07 am
looove this ode!
June 30th, 2009 at 6:14 am
mmm I love water too!! I wanna go swim now
Happy Tuesday!!
June 30th, 2009 at 6:33 am
I’m going swimming today…hooray for the sun and warm weather:)
June 30th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Every time I come to your blog, I have something else to add to my to-do list!
June 30th, 2009 at 7:02 am
You guys look so awesome with together. Pretty ducky look so cute with her swimsuit!
June 30th, 2009 at 7:22 am
I definitely don’t swim as much as I would like to. It’s probably laziness, mixed in with fear of being seen in a swimsuit.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:32 am
I’m much more of a ‘floater’ than a swimmer!
lol
June 30th, 2009 at 7:38 am
I am very at home in the water too. (Although not as at home with the creatures beneath the surface.)
June 30th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Pink goggles… nice touch!
June 30th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Ah sigh. I know how you feel. I’m a Cancer though, so I’m supposed to love the water.
Four three years I lived in a tiny, cramped, damp basement apartment that I loved. Why did I love it? It was in a private resident with a backyard in-ground pool. I had access to that pool whenever I wanted it. How I loved that pool! I miss it so.
These days my swimming is limited to whenever my mother invites me over to her condo. I also get to swim on vacation. I’m a body board addict in the ocean!
Of course the local weather has been so bad, swimming has been out of the question whether I have access to water or not!
How can you eat all of the food featured in your blog and still look that good in a bikini?
June 30th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I couldn’t agree more!! We are in the pool or a lake or an ocean pretty much every weekend from the end of May until the beginning of October…and sometimes indoor pools in the winter, too! I love swimming, I do! I do! I do!
(Dr. Suess jumped in there at the last second)
June 30th, 2009 at 8:04 am
You know what’s weird – I hate swimming! I love the hot tub but hate pools! I don’t know why – I loved it when I was a kid – we always had a pool and I was in it all summer long. Have fun swimming!!!
June 30th, 2009 at 8:44 am
i’m not a swimmer, i’m a land lubber. in fact, one of those baby pools is about as far as i go.
June 30th, 2009 at 8:57 am
What a cute post!! I love the water myself – just wish I could get more sunshine instead of all this rain lateley!
June 30th, 2009 at 9:58 am
You guys are so cute together… and I’m envious of your lyrical ode! hehe!
I’m swimming laps for exercise and I really am not a swimming lover, but ya know, I’m losing those inches I thought would never come off! So swimming is GOOD!
June 30th, 2009 at 10:00 am
I like just wandering around on the long shelves, or riding on hubby’s back (in the lake is the only time he can carry me!). We bob up and down, walking along the lakeshore at shoulder level, pretending to buy all the pretty cottages. Sigh.
Such a fun ode!
June 30th, 2009 at 10:30 am
I’m a virgo too! My birthday is September 15th… when is yours?
June 30th, 2009 at 10:33 am
I’m afraid of water (although I enjoy looking at it). I took swim lessons twice – once in grade 4, and once when I was 22, and still can’t swim. I watch the Olympic swimming competitions with pure envy.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I could really go for a nice swim in a warm ocean right about now!
June 30th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I love swimming too! So refreshing! Even though I only doggy paddle swim. That’s fine.
June 30th, 2009 at 11:56 am
It is awfully refreshing, isn’t it? And I sleep so well on the days I’ve been in the water.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I avoid bodies of water bigger than my (double sized whirlpool) bathtub. I hate showers, too, because I don’t like water falling on my head. Strange, eh?
June 30th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I did the pretending thing in the pool too, but I was always a mermaid. I have a feeling that we were probably pretty similar kids! Has Queen Bitty ever gone in the pool?
June 30th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
OK. you’ve had your time in the pool. Now get on with your next installment.
June 30th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Hi from SITS! Love this poem!
It has been hot over here (AZ) for a while now… so the pool is a necessity to stay cool! Have a great day!
June 30th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Oh, now I want to swim! I was always afraid of the water, but now that I’m older it does give you a free feeling.
You must try that pie, you will LOVE it
June 30th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Can you believe I cannot swim? So sad
June 30th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I used to pretend I was a dolphin (or a mermaid) too!
June 30th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
cute! you really do love to swim, don’t you?! i would give anything to be in a pool right now, it’s roasting over here!
June 30th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I haven’t been swimming YET this summer. Ugh! I’m gonna do it! I am!!
June 30th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Cute blog! I love to swim! I used to make up little swim dances with my friends!
Go SITSta girl!
June 30th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
i love swimming! but i don’t do much of it anymore. i don’t even really swim in our pond, even though i could. there have been some days where i sure have been tempted though. i’d love to just jump right in to cool off. ahh.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Now I just wanna jump into a tank of water. It’s been too long since I had a good swim!
June 30th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I used to like to swim – when I was much younger – now I don’t like to – not so much . . . I think b/c of my hair – it takes me so long to dry ti and straighten it! Labor of love
June 30th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Too cute! I wish my hubby shared my love of the water. I could swim all day. He’s not a fan of the creepy crawlers in the ocean / lakes.
June 30th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Enjoy your summer! It is way too cold here at present for any swimming.
June 30th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
What a pleasant post full of beautiful pictures! It’s a pity there are not several different images of you and Ben!
June 30th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Yahoo!!! I agree. Swimming and summer are best friends for life!
June 30th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Hi Duckie!
I love being near the water. I wish I lived closer to the ocean. I have been thinking about your decorating dilemma. What about cornices? You could make them pretty inexpensively and either paint them, cover them with padding and a little fabric or even wallpaper them. They would add a little color to your room, plus give you a place to put some decorative items on top. Plus they would be easy on allergies.
Just a thought. I will keep thinking about it and see if I get any other ideas too.
XOXO
Jen
June 30th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Love the poem! I’m just as crazy about the beach AND the water!! Whoo, I’ll take some sand between my toes and sunshine galore! Happy SITS day!
June 30th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
OH Duckie, I always loved to swim, but haven’t been near a pool in years. There is a pool here on the Estate, not a stone’s throw from our cottage and I really should be using it when I can. You’ve inspired me to hop in! Love you loads, xxoo
July 1st, 2009 at 12:14 am
What a lovely poem Duckie and I also love to swim but it has lapsed in the past few years since my children grew up.
July 1st, 2009 at 4:56 am
I really want to go swimming now! Love the poem.
July 1st, 2009 at 6:03 am
I need to take my daughter swimming to remind her how the water feels before her actual swimming lessons. Hope she likes it better this year!
July 1st, 2009 at 7:36 am
I also love to swim, I was and still am a water baby! You have the tall sleek body to be a dolphin, I am more of a whale, LOL!
July 1st, 2009 at 7:44 am
I am a Virgo, too! But I am must more particular about where I swim. No muck! No visible fish or critters! Really, I prefer pools!
July 1st, 2009 at 10:58 am
PS- Thanks for stopping by! I replied to your comment on my post!
July 1st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
What a fun ode to swimming! =D
I don’t like swimming per se, but I enjoy the water, especially if it’s not chlorinated.
July 1st, 2009 at 5:43 pm
We have been spending a lot of time around and in the water as well, now that summer weather is mostly here in MN. I love it!
July 1st, 2009 at 8:50 pm
I’m envious…
I’m 29 years old, and I can not swim!
Although, a couple of years a go, I did go “swimming” with sting rays. I have no idea what I was thinking! Terrible idea.
Thanks for the tibia stretching tip. My instructor showed me a couple of stretches and exercises to strengthen my shins. I also got a sleeve to protect it (and better running shoes). So far, so good!
July 1st, 2009 at 9:23 pm
How fun you are! You’re adorable! I love the ocean, it’s so magical!
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Soooo fun! Great photos.
I adore dolphins…:)
July 4th, 2009 at 10:35 am
I want to go swimming! I too am half dolphin!
July 5th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Great Ode! I always wanted to open a restaurant called Ode, and have it based on a theatrical theme of surprise on the spot actors, poets, and writers throughout history, and in the now kind of hip place…I still dream, and I love water to, but have this funny fear of it at the same time…
July 7th, 2009 at 2:32 am
Awesome!! I too love swimming..