Swimming in Iowa

I am not a great swimmer. In fact, I’d say I’m pretty bad at it (as illustrated by the time I nearly drowned in my water aerobics class in undergrad).

Despite being bad at this sport, I would also say that swimming is one of the defining memories of many of my vacations. Whenever we’d stay in a hotel (or as was more likely the case, a motel) one of the first things we’d do is check out the pool. And often we spent a good chunk of our time in said pool.

This is why I count my stay in (mostly likely a Holiday Inn Express – thanks Dad’s work!) Keokuk, Iowa as a meaningful experience even though the only thing I really remember about it was hours of fun in the pool with my brothers and my dad. Mom always made sure we had some fun pool toys (picture colorful rings, torpedoes, things that floated, simply a penny that we’d have diving races for after someone threw them into the pool…). 

And even if we didn’t have toys to play with, there were hours of fun to be had from cherry bomb and handstand competitions. And let me tell you, being the oldest had benefits – better lung capacity and larger body mass – meaning I won often enough for it to always be fun for me :)

Also, this helps me remember that there is great joy to be found in simple things.