Water Baby

I woke up at 5:30am and my blood sugar was 6.3.

I grabbed one peanut butter chocolate macaroon (10 carbs) and nibbled as I pulled on my shoes.

I drove to the pool, undressed, unhooked my pump, put my stuff in a locker, wet my hair and drenched it with conditioner, said hello the lifeguards, pulled on my goggles and proceeded to swim 90 lengths in 60 minutes.

I showered, changed, reconnected my pump and put a 150% basal rate for 90 minutes, drove home and checked my sugar again.

7.1

And that, my friends, is why I love swimming.

Well, that and the fact that, the minute I slip into the water, I can't help but smile.

I'm a water baby.

When my sisters and I were little, we were really lucky.  Our parents were both teachers so, when we were off, they were off.  Christmas holidays, March Breaks and, most importantly, summer vacation.  During the summer, they would take us to the public pool every single day.  My dad would bring his lawn chair and plant himself with a book while the three of us played around in the water for an hour or so, perfecting our handstands and triple somersaults.

For two weeks every summer, we would go on vacation.  We used to go camping near Ottawa and there was a lake there where we could swim.  Then we started driving to Cape Cod and camping there.  We had a lake in our campground and it wasn't a far drive to the ocean.  That's when I fell in love with the ocean. A few years after that, we started driving to New Smyrna Beach, Florida.  The ocean was mere steps away and we spent hours in it every day.

When I wasn't swimming in it, I was gazing at it, hoping to spot dolphins, sharks!, or perhaps a mermaid.

Then we grew up and summer vacations became a time to work so we could afford tuition fees and meal plans.  Despite going to school for marine biology, playing in the water was no longer a part of my life.  Instead of playing in it, I studied it in textbooks.

I graduated, got a summer job in social services and, without realizing it, 15 years passed.

Now, thanks to my late summer stress fracture, I spend three hours a week in the pool.  Being someone who preferred snorkelling and body surfing, I didn't think I'd enjoy swimming lengths.  Too boring and repetitive.  But my stress fracture forced me into the pool because it was the only physical activity I could do.

I was happily surprised to discover that it's the water I love, no matter what I'm doing in it.

My body feels good, my mind is peaceful and my diabetes seems to go in remission.

I feel like I've come home.