‘First the shock of the cool waters hit my skin, then I feel the bliss of navigating under the fresh water, with my eyes open, but the icing is when I stop and the tiny tickling bubbles catch up with me as I emerge for air...’
I can’t even begin to describe the emotions that overtake me when I come up for air after diving into my lake. We have the most delightful fresh, clear, cool waters. You, that are my lake kin, the swimmers out there, know what I mean. It’s that mixture of refreshing gratitude for that first gulp of air, and the silky feeling of the cool water brushing your skin, it’s heaven. For me, I always crack a smile as I come for air and pause, especially when the tiny underwater bubbles I have created from moving through the water catch up with me, tickling my newly refreshed skin! It’s like a million tiny caresses that make me grin ear to ear. Although I now usually dip in (down the ladder) than dive in, I still get all the delicious sensations of lake water against my skin and the bubbles I still generate, sometimes on purpose, just because I can as I maneuver through my healing waters.
One of my favourite view angles up the lake is the one I can enjoy right from the water level. As I emerge for air off shore, and tilt my heard back to let my shoulder-length hair flow back away from my eyes, or, if I’m just dipping that day, putter past the log breakwater to get out in the open water, I will then look out and across the lake for miles. I always, and I mean always, float there for a few moments just to soak that gorgeous view from the perspective of the surface of the lake.
In the mornings, I am in there swimming just as the morning sun has poked through and cleared the trees above the hill behind me, and so the water and the land before me is awake with light. I prefer to swim when the sunlight has risen enough to let me enjoy it’s warming rays on the dock when I get out. If I’m really lucky the daily breezes have not yet sprung, and the water I float in is like a sheet of glass, reflecting off the bright blue morning skies. It’s a breathtaking way to start your day, and quite frankly, not only awakens your soul, but awakens your body with the delightful sensations experienced when swimming in my beautiful lake.