Well. That is an interesting question. It infers that somewhere something is going well in your life. Of course, being that you usually swim in deeper quieter pools of water, or a chemically balanced institutional pool, that would fit my life right now. For I have felt like I've been in a quiet unchanging sort of place for awhile now. I keep waiting for things to get a little more interesting- for my innertube to come floating by and take me onto more free flowing purposeful waters. But, that hasn't happened. While I can't blame my family, I do know that the option of getting up and leaving the pool for more exciting water is not really an option right now, so I continue to wait here.
And yes, many things could be said to be going swimmingly. I have great, talented kids, a wonderfully loving and supportive partner, a solid part time job that pays well why keeping me in the black, and plenty of hobbies and interests to keep me going. I just very much didn't want to be a person who lived until they had kids, and then just lived through the kids lives. I often ask my husband, what do we look forward to now? You look forward to graduating, going to college, getting out of college, getting a job, marrying someone, buying a house, having kids and then....watching your kids get married? paying of the mortgage? Retiring? There's a whole lot of living that takes place between the former things in that list and the latter. I really don't think its a mid-life crisis as much as a mid-life loss of purpose. Women it seems are particularly bad about letting their kids and families' goals become their own.
So yes, back to the question. Merrily we roll along, except I keep feeling like I'm stuck in the lazy river, but all in all, it is an enjoyable time, and someday I am sure I will wonder what on earth I was so worked up about?
Friday, July 08, 2011
Thursday, July 07, 2011
do you consider yourself a strong swimmer?
Yes. But not competitive or long distance or "rescue everyone from a shipwreck" style. I have a natural ability to float- so that would help. I once swam a mile for my lifesaving course- I never got to finish the course since I opted for rest time over training. I am definitely out of shape, so I'm sure I could easily overestimate my abilities or stamina. But, still, I think I'm a moderate to strong swimmer.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
What kind of fish are you most like?
I'm going to go with trout. I enjoy a nice mountain stream, I hang out in the quiet pool when possible, I like the rhododendron covered hillsides and when it gets cold, I only keep moving to stay alive. I hang around with others like me, but I can be on my own as well- and given the opportunity, I will eat and be lazy until I am large and luscious. I also am fresh water versus salt water and occasionally I swim against the stream- so there it is: a mountain brook trout.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Are you scared of being in open water?
I get weekends off with this challenge, I think, and with the holiday being on a Monday, I took Sunday and Monday as my weekend. Back at it today.
I am not neccesarily scared of being in open water. I spent a great amount of time as a kid on Lake Wylie in my dad's boat, anchoring in coves, swimming, eating Penrose hot sausages, watching my Dad pee off the end of the boat, etc. We did a little skiing, but not alot- mostly wandering around until weather or sunset pushed us back home. Even though it's a large lake, you could always see the shore for the most part, so I'm not sure it qualifies as "open water". I have also spent time at the beach, and been on one whole cruise in my lifetime. Being out in the Atlantic looking in every direction unable to see any land- that was truly open water. It was also December, and even though we were near Bahamas et al, it wasn't a time to spend a lot of time contemplating the open ocean. I did go up front one time to see if there were any dolphin, or whales near by, or flying fish as were rumored. Saw none of those, but did get an appreciation for the vastness of the ocean. Not just the breadth of it- water as far as you see in every direction- but also for the depth of it- realizing that you are in waters 300, 500, 3000, or 5000 feet deep. Not having a depth finder handy, I'm just guessing on those depths- but I do know it was way over my head. So, you become quite aware of how sturdy a boat you're on. I thought of how flat it seemed from our height and given the fact it was clear and calm. I could only imagine rolling over the billows as a hurricane swirled to our south, or a storm came sweeping through. The images from "The Poseidon Adventure," "The Perfect Storm," or "Titanic" provide ample imagery for me- I have no desire to experience that for myself- heck, the storm that shipwrecked Gilligan et al seemed pretty wicked to me.
So, in short, as far as I know I am not overly scared of open water, but I might change my mind if the tide changes.
I am not neccesarily scared of being in open water. I spent a great amount of time as a kid on Lake Wylie in my dad's boat, anchoring in coves, swimming, eating Penrose hot sausages, watching my Dad pee off the end of the boat, etc. We did a little skiing, but not alot- mostly wandering around until weather or sunset pushed us back home. Even though it's a large lake, you could always see the shore for the most part, so I'm not sure it qualifies as "open water". I have also spent time at the beach, and been on one whole cruise in my lifetime. Being out in the Atlantic looking in every direction unable to see any land- that was truly open water. It was also December, and even though we were near Bahamas et al, it wasn't a time to spend a lot of time contemplating the open ocean. I did go up front one time to see if there were any dolphin, or whales near by, or flying fish as were rumored. Saw none of those, but did get an appreciation for the vastness of the ocean. Not just the breadth of it- water as far as you see in every direction- but also for the depth of it- realizing that you are in waters 300, 500, 3000, or 5000 feet deep. Not having a depth finder handy, I'm just guessing on those depths- but I do know it was way over my head. So, you become quite aware of how sturdy a boat you're on. I thought of how flat it seemed from our height and given the fact it was clear and calm. I could only imagine rolling over the billows as a hurricane swirled to our south, or a storm came sweeping through. The images from "The Poseidon Adventure," "The Perfect Storm," or "Titanic" provide ample imagery for me- I have no desire to experience that for myself- heck, the storm that shipwrecked Gilligan et al seemed pretty wicked to me.
So, in short, as far as I know I am not overly scared of open water, but I might change my mind if the tide changes.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
day 2
Well- there's no prompt for today on a Saturday. The farmers market this morning was busy- lots of vendors, lots of food- lots of visitors. The historical society came and brought lots of agricultural tools and old timey things. I had some good conversations with Country Hawkins and Mann Batson- both local history experts. Lots of good confirmation about information I already had. I did learn that until the 1850's there were mandatory militias, which would have led to Henry Lynch being called Major or Colonel. I still can't find a connection with Charleston. But, we'll keep working on that. If you have no idea what I am talking about, it's all in the historical fiction book I might write some day. Until then- I'm off to do some research!
Friday, July 01, 2011
Blogging every day challenge again
So this month's topic is swimming, and the prompt is about where would I like to swim. Firstly, I am happy that I can swim, and consider myself a decent swimmer. I am not fast at all, but I am a champion floater- light bones and a high fat content help me there. But, this week I've had Paris Mountain on the mind, so I'm going to say I'd like to swim there- and yes, at the State Park there is a stream fed lake that allows swimming, and for many years, it was the only swimming pool around.
My understanding of the past leads me to picture this swimming hole as one of about a dozen in the northern part of the county. There were a few springs that had been developed as commercial swimming areas- Chick Springs and Dreamland being two I have heard of. In the time after everyone moved in to town from their farms, and the time before they moved into subdivisions with air-conditioning and concrete pools, the natural swimming holes were your best option for humid Southern afternoons. Sure, there were ponds on farms, but anyone who has ever watched cows cool themselves off in a farm pond is well aware of the need for moving water to help redistribute some of their bovine productions. The algae and bacteria that come along with livestock wading in still water will give you pause before jumping in, no matter how hot it may get. So, there was a need for cool moving water spots with enough depth to allow for belly flops and cannon balls.
Some places that got used were natural swimming spots, but a good number were human engineered- dammed mountain streams, watersheds and gristmill ponds. They were usually stream fed and had rocky or sandy bottoms- making for cool clean swimming conditions. Such was the case at Paris Mountain. When the CCC came in to make an old military camp and waterworks into a State Park, they found a ready made lake already at their disposal. The need for clean water in the nearby growing city of Greenville had left a series of small lakes with pipes and spillways included. While Greenville has long since given up on Paris Mtn. as its water supply, you can still see evidence of its aqueous efforts throughout the park. The largest lake is Lake Placid, sitting near the lower border of the park- in fact the ubiquitously named State Park Road runs right by the waterfall over the spillway on the dam of the lake. It is interestingly named, considering it is the hub of activity at the park; a trail encircles it, there are multiple picnic tables and a large recently retored stone bathhouse sits guard by its enclosed swimming area. On the surrounding trail are kiosks with photos of bathers in years gone by- from the 1920's onward it was a space for swimming and escaping the South Carolina summer heat.
Since the park has been established, they've continued to allow swimming in the upper portion of the lake. There is a fenced off grassy shore, with a small fleet of canoes and paddle boats for rent. There is a small strip of sandy beach, but mostly a dock the extends out into the water to give one access to a cooling plunge. A matching floating structure provides a diving board and a destination for the purpose driven swimmer. There are really no large hazards- no stinging jellyfish or rocky outcrops, no man-eating fish or underwater monsters. But there is the quiet lurking truth that due to mismanagement upstream, fecal coliform bacteria from local wastewater finds its way into the lake routinely. Too many days without a flushing (sorry for the pun) rain and with warm, still waters and a simple skinned knee could turn into your ticket for a hopsital visit; or a small unintentional gulp of water could be the beginning of a fast and entirely unpleasant weight loss program. This is not widely known or advertised of course, but I still check the water flow before considering a trip there.
Of course as much as I know about all of this, I have yet to partake. I have not so much as dipped my toes in the lake. I have hiked around it numerous times, pointed out rare and interesting trees and plants, watched turtles sunbathing on logs, charted the progress of the local beavers, and skipped stones across the still surface. But I haven't gone swimming. My family has done so- riding paddleboats and even participating in the New Year's Day "Polar Bear Plunge." And I have had intentions to do so that have been thwarted by summer afternoon storms and toddler meltdowns. But sometime soon, on some unbearably hot and humid day, after I've been to the U-pick peach place or berry farm and had sweat drip off every inch of skin, I intend to take a cool, refreshing swim in Lake Placid at Paris Mountain State Park- provided it has rained in the week before!
My understanding of the past leads me to picture this swimming hole as one of about a dozen in the northern part of the county. There were a few springs that had been developed as commercial swimming areas- Chick Springs and Dreamland being two I have heard of. In the time after everyone moved in to town from their farms, and the time before they moved into subdivisions with air-conditioning and concrete pools, the natural swimming holes were your best option for humid Southern afternoons. Sure, there were ponds on farms, but anyone who has ever watched cows cool themselves off in a farm pond is well aware of the need for moving water to help redistribute some of their bovine productions. The algae and bacteria that come along with livestock wading in still water will give you pause before jumping in, no matter how hot it may get. So, there was a need for cool moving water spots with enough depth to allow for belly flops and cannon balls.
Some places that got used were natural swimming spots, but a good number were human engineered- dammed mountain streams, watersheds and gristmill ponds. They were usually stream fed and had rocky or sandy bottoms- making for cool clean swimming conditions. Such was the case at Paris Mountain. When the CCC came in to make an old military camp and waterworks into a State Park, they found a ready made lake already at their disposal. The need for clean water in the nearby growing city of Greenville had left a series of small lakes with pipes and spillways included. While Greenville has long since given up on Paris Mtn. as its water supply, you can still see evidence of its aqueous efforts throughout the park. The largest lake is Lake Placid, sitting near the lower border of the park- in fact the ubiquitously named State Park Road runs right by the waterfall over the spillway on the dam of the lake. It is interestingly named, considering it is the hub of activity at the park; a trail encircles it, there are multiple picnic tables and a large recently retored stone bathhouse sits guard by its enclosed swimming area. On the surrounding trail are kiosks with photos of bathers in years gone by- from the 1920's onward it was a space for swimming and escaping the South Carolina summer heat.
Since the park has been established, they've continued to allow swimming in the upper portion of the lake. There is a fenced off grassy shore, with a small fleet of canoes and paddle boats for rent. There is a small strip of sandy beach, but mostly a dock the extends out into the water to give one access to a cooling plunge. A matching floating structure provides a diving board and a destination for the purpose driven swimmer. There are really no large hazards- no stinging jellyfish or rocky outcrops, no man-eating fish or underwater monsters. But there is the quiet lurking truth that due to mismanagement upstream, fecal coliform bacteria from local wastewater finds its way into the lake routinely. Too many days without a flushing (sorry for the pun) rain and with warm, still waters and a simple skinned knee could turn into your ticket for a hopsital visit; or a small unintentional gulp of water could be the beginning of a fast and entirely unpleasant weight loss program. This is not widely known or advertised of course, but I still check the water flow before considering a trip there.
Of course as much as I know about all of this, I have yet to partake. I have not so much as dipped my toes in the lake. I have hiked around it numerous times, pointed out rare and interesting trees and plants, watched turtles sunbathing on logs, charted the progress of the local beavers, and skipped stones across the still surface. But I haven't gone swimming. My family has done so- riding paddleboats and even participating in the New Year's Day "Polar Bear Plunge." And I have had intentions to do so that have been thwarted by summer afternoon storms and toddler meltdowns. But sometime soon, on some unbearably hot and humid day, after I've been to the U-pick peach place or berry farm and had sweat drip off every inch of skin, I intend to take a cool, refreshing swim in Lake Placid at Paris Mountain State Park- provided it has rained in the week before!
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