Get in the water.
Every Saturday from November 2013 ’til June 1, 2014 was the goal. Once I get a thought in my head it’s hard to ignore it or change it’s mind. I just go where it leads me and have fun with the adventure, knowing I’ll learn something along the way.
I knew something about the commitment I’d made – cold water, cold air, laughing, etc.
I knew about the 15 minute drive to the beach and how anxiety would sit on my lap and get heavier, the closer I got to the shore.
I knew that there would be a lot that I didn’t know, like what the weather would be like on any given day, or what it would be like to walk through snow and over icy steps to get in the frigid water.
I found out that life hands you the opportunity to face many “firsts”, introduce yourself, and see what you’re made of all the time, and when you least expect it.
The hardest part of this challenge has been following through after the newness of the experience wore off.
I can handle adverse weather conditions.
I can calm my heart down so that I don’t die of a heart attack just thinking about the cold.
I have overcome my fears of being seen in a bathing suit, on camera, in video.
I’ve managed to push through the discomfort of feeling like a “pain” by sharing these weekly plunges on Facebook. (You might not “get” that one, but that’s huge for me.)
I’ve even kept to a schedule: every Saturday at 10 am, at Chappaquoit Beach. (this one is huge, too. My kids are used to me telling them that we’ll be leaving for somewhere in an hour and 10 minutes later saying, “Everyone in the car!” They hate that!) Schedules are good for things like trains, planes and classes. I like to know when something that someone has planned is going to happen. I just like the freedom of coming or going as I please. That can be annoying to some people.
I could go on, but I think I won’t. Instead, I’ll let you in on something that I didn’t expect – something that touches my heart so deeply it makes me a bit teary to think about. Something that gets me out the door every Saturday when I don’t see a reason any more, or when I just don’t feel like going. I’ve noticed a pattern: when the newsness wears off it’s easy to forget the underlying joy that is embedded in the activity. It’s easy to say, “been there, done that, don’t need it.”
I didn’t expect to have a constant companion to come to the polar plunges. I didn’t expect there to be another person who’d depend as much on me showing up as I would her.
Every time I imagined the eight months the plunges would span, I pictured myself alone. I knew my best friend, Lisa would come when she could to cheer me on. But I never really thought anyone else would go in the water with me. And that didn’t matter. I don’t count on people to do what I do. I have fun by myself. That’s how I know I’m being true to myself.
But then Meg said that she wanted to try a plunge. She said she’d always wanted to try it and, “once would be enough, thank you very much!”
I will never forget that day. I sat in my Beetle at Nobska Beach with a new bag of Dove chocolates and was so nervous that I unwrapped and read all 36 messages wrapped around chocolates I didn’t eat! I sorted the messages on the wrappers into piles and finally saw her coming down the lighthouse hill, signalling my need to get out of the car and head for the water.
After answering her question, “So how do we do this?” with, “Just don’t think about it and run!” she ran and dove in with me.
We had a blast as her husband looked on and captured the experience in a few photos.
And she kept showing up!
And getting in the water!
And screaming and laughing and learning with me!
I did not expect that.
This was MY “crazy”. Now it’s OUR “crazy”!
I not only had a friend in Meg, but I had a friend who seemed to sense a reason to be on the same path that I was on. There was no convincing her. She chose it and shows up because it’s important to her in a way that only she could explain.. She’s not “supporting” me. She’s not “taking care” of me. She’s not worried about me. We are just enjoying an experience TOGETHER.
I think that there’s a lesson there. Don’t you?
Do what you love and the unexpected will blow your joy out of the water and into another realm…in whatever way it does.
For me, the unexpected was companionship, camaraderie – attracting a like-minded soul.
Don’t you just LOVE surprises?!