In The Swim

I’ve lived around water my entire life.

Growing up, I boated and fished at all the small lakes in our Seattle neighborhood with my father and three older brothers. My parents enrolled each of us in swimming classes at an early age.

But, despite my best efforts, I never made it past the shallow end of the pool. After a while, I got frustrated and quit trying. I couldn’t swim a stroke. And, even though I nearly drowned as a teenager, I convinced myself, over the years, that knowing how to swim wasn’t important.

I didn’t realize how much that decision would affect my life until I moved to Eastern Washington in 1986 to attend college. I quickly discovered that Spokane summers revolve around lake activities. All my friends swam.

People looked at me with shock and disbelief when I told them I couldn’t swim. I considered taking lessons, but my fears about the water had grown stronger with age. Besides, I had tried before and failed. I figured it was too late for me to learn.

Still, it was both embarrassing and humiliating to tell people I didn’t know how to swim. So, instead of being honest about it, I often devised elaborate excuses to avoid being in the water.

That worked until my parents bought a home on Lake Coeur d’Alene in 1988. Each summer, I would watch from our dock with jealousy as people of all ages water-skied and swam to cool off.

I loved being at the lake, but felt imprisoned on the dock because of my fears about drowning. While other people played in the water, I sat in a lawn chair sweating. Somehow it didn’t seem fair. I wanted to be swimming like everybody else, but the mere thought of jumping into that lake left me paralyzed with fear.

I completed college in 1989. I was a success in school but I felt like a failure around water. My friends urged me to take swimming lessons … more excuses.

Then, in the summer of 1994, I faced another setback. As a joke, somebody decided to throw me into the lake. I thought I was a goner. Miraculously, I managed to pop back up to the surface, shaken but unharmed.

The experience was a wake-up call. I wanted to feel safe around water. I knew I should take swimming lessons, but still I held out. I guess I needed a little more encouragement to take that first big plunge. And last summer, my incentive came along.

Mark is a water fanatic. His family also has a lake home. We hit it off well on our first date, but I figured he’d dump me when he found out I couldn’t swim. Instead, he never made a fuss about it.

We spent most of our free time on or around the lake. I watched with envy as his two daughters took turns diving off the end of the dock … over and over and over again … they loved being in the water. They were young and fearless.

I missed that freedom. I was tired of sweating on the dock. I wanted to jump in the lake. I wanted to swim. And, at that moment, I knew I was ready to face the challenge.

In September, I registered for adult swimming lessons at the YWCA. It was one of the only places in Spokane to offer them. There were only two of us in the class.

At first, I was embarrassed because everybody else in the pool was swimming. It seemed as though they were all staring at us. But, after a few encouraging words from my instructor, Loretta Rose, I stopped worrying about what other people thought, and started focusing on learning how to feel more comfortable in the water.

Inch by inch, she challenged me toward the deep end of the pool. Once there, I learned the true meaning of that phrase, “sink or swim.” I chose to swim. And, by the end of my fourth one-hour lesson, I was swimming the length of the pool. My fears were behind me. I had won my battle with water and the resulting freedom felt great.

In late October, I received my swimming certificate. The $80 I spent on swimming lessons was one of the best investments I’ve ever made. In fact, I enjoy swimming so much, I decided to take advanced courses through the winter. Loretta says I’ll be jumping in the lake by summer. I can hardly wait!

MEMO: Cynthia Prentiss is a viewer development producer for KHQ-TV.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Ready to plunge in? Loretta Rose has been teaching people how to swim for nearly 25 years. She offers this advice to those who are considering that first big plunge: Take your lessons from a certified swimming instructor. Start off slowly. Water-walking or water-aerobic classes are a great way to overcome your initial fears of the water. Have confidence in what you’re doing. Trust the water and allow it to help you float. Have fun in the water. Don’t push yourself so hard that swimming becomes work. Always leave the pool on a positive note. Adult swim class: The YMCA offers beginner and intermediate swimming classes for adults, and the next session begins in January. Call 838-3577 for more information.