"Trust"- That is all it takes..

I have 2 friends who are committed swimmers and have been getting frequent calls to join them for swimming, but me- the” lazy one” just found excuses to avoid it. I love shortcuts in life and sincerely wished that someone picked me and dropped me into a pool directly instead of me having to drive the 25 miles, change, shower and swim and then finally drive back home- all by “myself”. In short, “the long drive” was the culprit! However, I gathered all the encouragement and decided to join them, though in my mind I was skeptical about my stamina as it has been 4 to 5 years since I swam. But as they say- swimming, driving & cycling are 3 things that stay concrete and is unforgettable for your mind and body.

With that theory in mind, I plunged into the warm blue waters of the pool and happily swam the first lap. Yes, the theory still holds good :-) We swam in the shallow waters and decided to try the deep side of 12 ft. I did have a small scare in me but my memories as a child of how I managed to overcome the fear of deep water swimming flashed by.

Thanks to my dear mom who was after my life to learn swimming as she strongly believed that swimming should be a “must known” skill to all as it can be used best in emergencies. But as they all say- in case of accidents, a non- swimmer would drown pretty fast and a swimmer would swim for a while and drown eventually!

As my schooling was nearing its end and college would mean staying away from parents, it became more of a “necessity” for my mom to teach me to swim. She was an excellent swimmer from childhood with the solid experience of handling the strong currents of the backwaters, back home in Kerala. So there I was in the pool, learning the basics from her and was able to get a good grip of it within a few days. Eventually picked up the technique and I was very happy with myself and content that the task is over. But my mom, was no where near to satisfaction as I did not enter the deep waters yet, as that was the whole purpose, as no one would ever drown in the shallow waters!

Fear: fear that I would drown and would never come up to the surface, fear that I would be gasping for breath underwater, fear that swimming at a depth beyond 5 ft was impossible and fear that I will die- These were the challenges I was facing. My mom was confident that I could swim in the deep and encouraged me every single day to try it at least once, but in vain.

One fine day she talked me into it (we all know the typical “mom talk”) and I agreed only on one condition that she would swim right beside me. My mom assured me that she would be right there and would do anything to save me if I drown. Moreover, I too thought to myself that, there is this handsome lifeguard and how romantic it would be if the whole experience had a filmy twist to it. Oh boy ! (High hopes, yeah right!).

Well, there I was, all set with the “come what may” attitude. I looked at her to get that one last assurance “nod” and made sure that she would be right beside me. The agreement was she would join a few seconds after I start, as the simultaneous waves splashing by could affect my pace. Gathered all the courage, crossed my heart and began the venture. I was nearing the end of the shallow side and knew that, in moments I would be entering the danger zone, but kept swimming and believed she is right beside and there is nothing to fear. Wanted to check on her in between, but did not want to distract myself as any slack in any move would mean drowning in my mind set. And so there I went ahead and could see the silver rim at the end of the 12 ft and knew I was very close and can do it. My mom’s voice just kept ringing in me and I swam ahead and there “Voila”- I MADE IT! And as I held the rim while panting for breath I could heard some cheer and clapping from the other end of the pool.

Turned back to get that hug from mom and what a shock! My mom was still in the shallow waters and waving and clapping and blowing kisses to me.

It was mixed emotions in me, was mad and angry at her for not keeping up to her promise but at the same time very proud that I did it. She got out of the pool and came up to me and held my hand. When I asked her why she didn’t join me, she simply answered, “I knew you would do it and all you needed was my assurance and my trust and you had it all way along”
Miss you, mummy!