Streamlining

I'm not sure where this is going, actually. No, not sure at all. Of course, I'd like it to be a big turn-around in the way I conduct my life, a drastic series of epiphanies that turn my life upside-down and force me to re-examine every aspect of my existence.

Really? Would I really like that? I'm thinking no. If that actually happened, who would I be at the end of it? Would I even be someone I'd want to hang out with? No, I guess I'm not looking for any great epiphanies.

My son is taking swim lessons right now. I laid the law down and told him that if he wants to go on any camping trips next summer, then he has to learn how to swim. He's getting to be of an age where he likes to explore on his own. I asked, "What would happen if you fell into a lake or pond and couldn't swim?"

"I'd drown," he said.

Precisely.

In class, he's doing something called "streamlining" right now. Basically, it goes like this: put your arms straight out over your head and bring your hands together, close your eyes, take a big breath, lay face down in the water, then push off of the wall. Once you've got forward motion, kick your legs to keep going. This is all a precursor to learning the Crawl; throw in some arm paddling and breathing technique and -- viola! -- we're swimming!

If I look at my son's swimming lessons as a metaphor for my own endeavors, I guess I'd put myself at the floating stage. I haven't yet put my arms over my head and made that streamlining point out of my arms, let alone started to kick, or added in the arms and breathing.

I'm holding my breath and floating . . .

. . . or maybe I've run out of breath and have resurfaced, only to realize that the lake I'm in is much larger and turbulent than I'd first imagined.

Regardless. There's my metaphor -- my conceit, if you will. I'll use that as a guide.

My goal for this week: Examine what I need to do in order to get my hands over my head and push off into the water.

Today's goal: Do one thing I absolutely despise, and one thing I'd rather procrastinate on doing, but will do anyway.