I glance up at the tide clock on our wall as I make sandwiches to go in the lunchboxes to go in the school bags. It's almost high tide. On the radio I hear the first snow report for the season, they're expecting a blizzard and 45 - 90cm of snow fall over the weekend in the mountains. I pull my jumper down over my hands to protect my fingers from my cold steering wheel. I start driving and see that one of the herds of dairy cows are in their paddock closest to the road, I notice their companionship. When I arrive at the river the water is sparkling, it has differing shades of bright blue. The sky is clear, the sun is bright and the sand is yellow. We pop up out of the river and onto the beach, the ocean is calm, almost flat and one of my friends say, "it's like a tropical island".
My friends have decided that our group will now be called the Silver Fins after having to disregard the name River Boys since I joined them. I wonder if they know how much I appreciate their company, l hope they don't mind mine. They give me helpful tips, I'm now swimming straighter, they point out any prickles on the ground for me to avoid, they zip up my wetsuit, they look after me. We walk the length of the beach in the warmth of the sun and then back over to the river, the water temperature isn't exactly like a tropical island but it's not uncomfortably cold either, we start to swim. As I breathe out I hear the bubbles moving past my face and feel the warm air on my cheeks, I think back to this morning when my breath was steaming from the cold. My goggles have fogged up but I don't bother clearing them, I'm happy enough listening to the sounds of my bubbles and the splashing of my arms and feet. After a while it seems insular and I want a bigger picture, I want to be able to see what else is going on. I stop and rinse my goggles and when my face returns to the water I'm immediately greeted by a school of thousands of tiny fish. I see another two schools before my swim ends. I see bigger fish and all different kinds of seaweed, I see patterns in the sand, shells and funny shaped rocks. When I lift my head up I watch an enormous flock of seagulls sitting on the sand casually enjoying their morning together. I'm not sure if the 'Silver Fins' are more of a school than a flock or a herd but I do like our camaraderie. I like that I'm not here alone, I like that I don't need to explain to them why I would like to join them to swim through winter, I like that they understand that perfectly well.
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AuthorKirrilee Archives
September 2018
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