Swimming

"Who goes swimming anyway?" says some random young guy who walks past me in the hallway as I leave work. Finally going home after lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons.

"I was just swimming earlier" I respond. I had actually found some time to get in the pool and swim. A rare occurrence.

"I don't like water" he says as I walk out the door with a smile on my face, swimming put me in a good mood.

It’s a shame some people don’t enjoy the water like I do. But then I started to wonder, why do I swim? Why on earth do I like to swim? It's such a hassle! I have to change, get in the cold water. Getting out is even worse. Drying off, then going out in the cold with wet hair. So why do I bother? I never want to at first, but then while I’m swimming it is so therapeutic, so refreshing. I feel awesome after I swim. Like it cleared my head of all that was troubling it.

I don't swim nearly as much anymore. I became a lifeguard and a swim instructor and could no longer find the time in my day. I didn’t want to spend more time at the pool than I had to. Then why do I continue to teach swimming lessons and lifeguard if it takes so much time away from my love of swimming? Because it has its own rewards. I have the unique opportunity to show children how swimming can be fun. I can encourage them to do the best they can and more than they ever thought they could. I can praise them when they show improvement. I get excited when they make the jump from hating swimming lessons, or being scared of the water, to loving to swim. Some days are difficult, but some can be incredibly rewarding.

So, “who goes swimming anyway?” I do. And I hope to play a part in helping children want to go swimming too. Maybe that young guy would like to swim if he had a better experience as a child. Maybe I can make the difference between these children loving or hating the water. It’s my place in this world right now, and I take on the challenge proudly.

Valentine's Day

Well, it’s February again! That means Valentine’s Day. The candy hearts have been out since Christmas and the flower shops are getting ready for their big orders. You would think that a fairytale loving girl like myself would love valentine’s day, and I do think it has its good qualities, but in general I can’t stand it. It’s the day where the love birds show their love to each other and the people who haven’t found that special someone yet feel incredibly left out.

The most obvious reason I don’t like Valentine’s Day is that, like many people, I don’t have that love of my life to celebrate the day with yet. It is just a day that reminds me that I still haven’t found my prince charming yet. It is a day that almost forces you to have a boyfriend or girlfriend just so you aren’t the one person who isn’t doing something romantic on Valentine’s Day, which I find to be ridiculous and disgusting. True, I long for the day when my prince charming will get me flowers on Valentine’s Day. But I want to wait for him; I want him to be the right Prince Charming, not someone I picked out just so I didn’t feel left out on some random day in February.

But once someone finds that special someone to show their love to on Valentine’s Day, why does it only have to be on February 14^th? If you really love someone you do not need a specific day to show it. You should show your love for that special someone every day of the year. And who said Valentine’s Day had to be a day to only show love to your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, or wife? Why not show love to your family and friends? Everyone deserves to know that someone is thinking about them on Valentine’s Day, and every other day for that matter.

So, this fairytale loving girl will go another Valentine’s Day without finding her Prince Charming, but that won’t stop me from showing everyone else in my life that I love them this Valentine’s Day, and every other day. I hope that you will do the same. Whether you have found your special someone yet or not, show everyone you love them. Whether it be on February 14^th, June 23^rd, October 5^th, or any other random day, never let a day go by without letting the people you love know that you love them. It is easy to forget sometimes, but it means so much.

 

Street Sweeper

Today we celebrate a great man who was not afraid to stand up for what he believed in. He was intelligent and charismatic and convinced hundreds upon hundreds of people to follow him and fight for equality. Everyone recognizes his “I have a dream” speech, but it is his less well known speech called “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life” that I find to be my favorite because it’s not just about equality, it is something that everyone should listen to, regardless of race.

In this speech Martin Luther King Jr. talks about how you should be the best at whatever you do. Even if you are a simple street sweeper you should be the best street sweeper you can be. Too many people today see their job as just a job. It is just a stepping stone to the next, hopefully better one. So they don’t care if they do their job well, they won’t be there long so it doesn’t matter. But how can you expect to find a better job, get a raise, or be promoted if you aren’t an outstanding employee? Every job is important. No job is so low that it should not be done well.

“What I’m saying to you this morning, my friends, even if it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go on out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures; sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music; sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry;” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. wanted everyone to be the best at whatever they do. He wanted them to work hard and earn what they receive. He wanted them to treat everything they do as important and meaningful, because it is.

Even if you are just flipping burgers at McDonalds, be the best burger flipper you can be. If you are just a street sweeper, “sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, "Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well."

 

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A day to celebrate a great man who continues to inspire people long after he is gone. 

 

Many Hats

Today is National Hat Day. I have many different hats, both literally and metaphorically. Literally I have over twenty different hats of all different styles, colors, and for all different occasions. I have fedoras, some for every day wear and some for when I'm a spy. I have sun hats of all the colors of the rainbow for at the beach. Then, if that wasn't enough, I also have a classic pirate tri-corner hat for when I'm a pirate, a few Santa hats for Christmas time, and some top hats for being the Mad Hatter. Then I have three or four real, statement hats, two of which require a very special occasion to wear. Each of these hats calls for a different occasion, a different outfit, a different costume, a different identity. This brings me to the metaphorical side of things.

I am a writer, I am also a swimmer, I am a college graduate with my associates degree, I like to decorate cakes, and I like to create movies, I am a collector of knee high socks, and apparently a collector of hats. I am many different things and am proud of every single one of them. As I continue to go through life I will continue to collect hats, hobbies, occupations, labels I will go by. One day I hope to add author to the list along with many more including wife and mother. Some of the hats will be lost or forgotten over time, while many more will be added. Each one will be used for a different reason.

My mother gave a speech with a similar hat centered theme at my graduation celebration last month. The thing that stuck out to me the most was that she said some hats will be difficult to wear, but that God would always give you the right hat for the situation. I believe that this is true and I look forward to seeing what hats He has in store for me in the future. Whatever hats you wear, whether literally or metaphorically, wear them proudly today and every other day.

Happy National Hat Day!