The water in the creek is often surprisingly warm. After the first shock, it is easy to stay in. It is perhaps thirty metres long and I swim fast and methodically up and down. I don’t like to talk or mess around when I’m swimming; or it might be more accurate to say that I can’t imagine being able to mess around, can’t imagine being free from my own rules and ambitions, and more accurate still to say that I’m frightened of what might happen if I were. Instead I set myself a target and count the lengths. My husband dives in and swims for a little while, slowly, without particular direction. Then he turns over and lies on his back and floats, looking at the sky.
~ Rachel Cusk, in Coventry (Farrar, Straus and Giroux. September 16, 2019)
Note: Photo Gif via poppins-me
different approaches to life. I’m in the ‘just float’ camp.
No doubt you are…no doubt.
With ya, pal. I tend to be an ‘eye on the prize’ sorta gal, too…
No doubt. No doubt.
I’m definitely on my back floating – I never get where I thought I was going to go anyway (and where I end up is invariably more than a-ok)
Would have guessed that Mimi….I would.
Laughing…so much for being opaque..😉
Fully transparent. But old work life must have conflicted with it.
My impact on professional services cannot be overstated…
Guess my camp and I tell you if you’re right!
Float!
You’re right. BUT the funny thing is that I fought so much in my life to get to my goals that it STILL happens that I count my length, w/o wanting to or even against my inner self. I have one sister who is so highly competitive that when I phone her, she MUST tell me the number of lengths she swam, or the no of km she rode her bike or the length of time she power-walked. The rest of the family just shakes their head…. floating is IT.
Beautiful pairing, needs to be said once again 😉
Smiling. Lucky to Float and still achieve your goals. That is operating at a very high level.
Now you’re flattering me…. Now it’s only floating 🙂 The inner counting is me not being able to throw the ‘Swiss’ out….
😊😊😊
I find it comforting to know there are people like this out there.
Yep
Rachel, you do some beautifully painted writing!
She does.
I should not have read this so early in the morning — nor the comments. Everyone is so ‘with’ the swimming metaphor but me…I’m usually no where NEAR the water. Don’t worry. I’ll eventually get into the water…
Claudia; don’t feel bad please. Hero Husband has grown up next to a very large lake (Léman, Switzerland), nearly drowned twice (once pushed by a friend, and once he fainted, wd you believe it) and what did I do when he visited at Lake Zurich? Right, I pushed him from a low stone wall into the lake and nearly drowned again….. So, just go slowly in, put the water on and over your body, take a deep breath and dip in – and FLOAT! gOOD LUCK!
Laughing. With your toe anyway.
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Swimming … ‘ I don’t like to talk or mess around when I’m swimming; or it might be more accurate to say that I can’t imagine being able to mess around, can’t imagine being free from my own rules and ambitions, and more accurate still to say that I’m frightened of what might happen if I were. Instead I set myself a target and count the lengths.’ … Rachel Cusk, in Coventry (Farrar, Straus and Giroux. September 16, 2019).
I am, unfortunately, or not, definitely a floater. Though I prefer to call it a go-with-the-flow rather than a floater 😉
Yeah, that figures – going with the flow 😉 Sending you love!
All good, Kiki! 😊
Shocking!!!
Do I detect a note of sarcasm in your tone, young man?
Dripping!
Uh huh… I’ve no doubt!
floating and enjoying life sounds nice
It does!
I’d have my stopwatch and heart rate monitor going…
Laughing. So me too Jim.