Just Jump In

Today was a long day. Not a busy day, just a long day. I went golfing with a friend. The heat was brutal, but a day at golf is still a day at golf.

After golf, I had to pick up the girls. The friend I went golfing with lives a few houses down from my ex and has a pool, so he invited us over for dinner. After getting in our swimsuits, I watched the kids run to the end of the diving board and jump in. As I, myself, walked to the end of the board, I stared down at the clear cool water. The thought of jumping from the warm air to the cold water weighed heavily on my mind. When I was younger, I would have been the first one in and the last one out of the pool.

As Lizzy ran by me and jumped in,yet again, I realized, I was creating reasons not to go into the pool. The pressure in my bad ear from going to deep. The uncomfortable coldness of the water I experienced earlier in the season.

Why were these things causing so much anxiety? I had been in a pool millions of times before and only a handful of those events ended poorly. In fact, most times were awesome, fun and refreshing. I took two steps back and ran forward. I planned on doing a swimming dive but as my body reached the air, I decided to arch into a standard dive. Not a great move. My entry was olympic, but I wretched my body into a brutal position and ended up tighter than a threatened armadillo, never making it less than a foot below the water's surface. The pain in my right arm from hitting the water with too much speed and spinning ferociously was quickly forgotten as the coolness caressed my body.  Swimming to the shallows of the pool, the 90+ degree day of sport seemed to wash away. The girls, my friends kids, my friends and I had a great time.

This is one of those lessons that seems to repeat itself. Sometimes you have to just jump in. Will you get hurt or be uncomfortable? Maybe. While you're in the air and can't turn back, contemplate it.