Reflections on the Thirteenth Week of Summer

      After dinner Wednesday, Spence and I launched the kayak onto the lagoon at the north end of Lake Wilhelm. Frogs jumped in algae. The sun, burning low in the sky, poured golden shafts across the smooth water. We headed away from the glare. A great blue heron screeched aaawwwkkk as it flew away. Passing under the Sheakleyville Road bridge, we came across a flock of cormorants roosting in trees. Were they watching the sun fall on the other side of the lake? We turned for a photo angle. Water trickled under the kayak, paddles swished, and crickets droned.

    Thursday afternoon brought a different water adventure. Nicki, the new Deep Water Fitness teacher, tossed us neon colored noodles–four foot lengths of round Styrofoam with a small air hole running through the center. She said, “Stand on your noodle and pull yourself across the pool with your arms.” I forced it under the water and mounted the two inch diameter strand. The noodle knocked me backwards and shot into the air. Red, lime, yellow, and blue noodles soared over the pool. Laughter and splashes echoed off the walls. I tried again and again to mount that flexible stick. Nicki said, “It helps to put one foot on and then the other.” That did help, but I'd wobble one stroke forward, upend, and have to struggle back onto the noodle. Perfectly perpendicular, Nicki moved steadily across the pool and back.

    One classmate scrunched her face in concentration and moved forward slowly. I asked, “How do you do that?”

    “Kneel on it,” she said. “It's easier.”

     Aha–like using blocks to accommodate difficult yoga poses. I knelt, pulled my arms, and didn't topple.