Living Off The Grid

So- I officially turned in my last paper on Friday night at 10:30. - I purposefully smashed all my final assignments into Friday night so I could enjoy the weekend completely school work free. Since Mr. Millie had an unusually light work load himself (his summer term doesn't end for three more weeks)- we decided to take the weekend and just enjoy hanging out and spending time together NOT watching a clock or worrying about when we needed to get back to home to get work done. We turned off our cell phones were banned from computers/laptops/facebook - we put our home phone on "Do Not Disturb" and just existed without being available to everyone 24 hours a day. It was FABULOUS. I highly recommend trying it. It was so nice to just BE - and not be connected.

I actually read an entire book- for pleasure- over the course of the 2 days ( Discovery of Witches, for inquiring minds- and it was phenomenal... a must read- especially if you were swept into the Twilight craze. - its like a billion times better)

Anywho~ The weekend of nothingness was exactly what I needed. I could just relax, let myself decompress and be a total lazy bum. It was heaven.

I am back in the pool and getting ready for the Family tri in three weeks- yep three weeks. Um- Eep. Major Eep.

So, Mr. Millie is always expressing his concern that there are no lifeguards at the gyms lap pools. And I always point out that the pool is only four feet of water, there's no way any experienced swimmer could drown in the pool. Not to mention that the whole thing is wired with cameras. I'm sure someone is watching all the time. (not to mention that attendants are coming in and out all the time- so even if someone *was* drowning- they would be rescued)...

But anyway.. this morning, I was swimming, letting my mind drift away and not focusing on my stroking. I was stuck in the furthest lane against the wall this morning because there were a quadrillion people in the pool swimming this morning. And being all the way at the end, you get a lot of splashing from the wake of the other swimmers.

I pushed off the wall heading back for my final pass, and the wake of my own push off combined with the wake of the gigundo Iron Man swimming next to me created a wave forceful enough to enter both my nose and my mouth simultaneously- and completely robbing me of all air. Thankfully I was able to stand straight up and expel (in a none to pretty way) the water that had forced itself into my air ways... but I can now see just how quickly a drowning can happen even for a seasoned swimmer.

As appealing as it is to just flap back and forth, and not really mentally be present- it is kind of important to stay present , especially when there are a lot of people in the pool- just so you can mentally keep your positioning and form in check. I know my form wasn't proper. My middle was probably sagging- my chin most likely wasn't tucked- my shoulders were probably under the water instead of above the water- which is how I ended up inhaling half the ever loving pool.

So moral of the story- NO ONE is immune to drowning. NO ONE should neglect pool safety, and everyone should always regardless of how talented you are be cognizant of your surroundings.

That way you can enjoy the pool for years and years to come :-D