"Ann! Stop hanging on the wall!"
I hated swim team. My only moments of pleasure came at the end each lap, when I clung to the wall, tucking the curtains of my too-long-bangs back behind each ear. I tried to go unnoticed for as long as possible, catching up on my inhaling until finally the coach's whistle found me again, and I was off. Then came flip-turns and all joy in the sport was gone for me. Not only did I miss those regular intervals of oxygen and visual acuity, but now I had to contend with highly chlorinated water running through my sinuses at each and every somersaulty turn.
The solution to keep pool water out of my head came to me one glorious day when I saw the blurry end of the pool approaching and moaned a little. What do you know, bubbles came out my nose when I moaned! With bubbles coming out, bubbles couldn't go in. I had discovered nautical gold. Humming soon replaced moaning as a more interesting way to keep a steady stream of bubbles flowing. And besides, there were countless tunes to hum to keep me company on the long and not so winding road of swimming.
When I was first married, I volunteered to teach swimming lessons at our local YMCA. I would get so annoyed when the other teachers instructed kids to blow bubbles with their mouths. Blowing bubbles actually MAKES water go up their noses. And that "up-your-nose feeling" makes it all the harder to get them to have another go at putting their faces in. I started my beginning swimmers off by holding hands in a little circle in the shallow water. We'd pick a song we all knew like, Mary Had a Little Lamb. With our heads out of the water, we'd begin humming the song and then would gradually bend our knees until our humming heads were fully submerged. As long as the children hummed without stopping, there was a steady stream of air that kept water from going up their noses. It's an easy skill to practice in the tub too.
I still swim sometimes at the neighborhood pool in the summers. If you ever have the misfortune of swimming laps next to me, you might want to bring ear plugs.
Posts
