Third swimming lesson today. After swimming virtually every day in the mini pool the cruise ship – the upside is, I have gotten a lot of practice and am more comfortable in the water; the downside is, I am so used to the shorter length and shallower depth, that I panic when I go beyond the halfway mark of the the 25M length training pool.

Notes from my swimming lesson

Corrections / key teaching points

1. Keep head down. Head should be parallel to floor, looking down at the bottom of the pool, not tilted up.
2. My arms are not going back far enough. To help me remember to pull hands back far enough, touch my hip on the pull back, and wiggle my hip
3. Keep the hand high and straight in the air (“wave to lifeguard”) rather than having it hang like a limp noodle (my words not hers)
4. Turn my head back into the water, before beginning my arm stroke back into the water.
5. Push and glide. Hold the edge of the pool with one arm, other arm is straight, and head is in the water, both feet are against the wall, and push off. Bring arms together in a streamlined position. Do not kick or breathe out during the glide phase. Only start breathing out slowly once I start kicking. The push and glide reduces effort, and gives me the opportunity to relax at the start of a lap.

Focal points for next session
(in addition to those here)

• Keep head down / parallel to floor
• Bring arms past hips (touch hips and pull / “push up to exit from pool”)
• Build endurance to cover the full length of the pool (adapting back from the small pools in cruise ship)

Mother / daughter chat

My mum called me yesterday and we had a really nice, relaxing chat for the first time in a long time, it seems. It definitely helped that my dad didn’t try to butt in and try to persuade, bribe or extort me to retur me and nn home. 

I tried not to feel defensive when she talked about how grateful she is that her cousin is around to help her with her hip operation physio logistics, and how much trouble and inconvenience this is causing if her cousin. I often feel defensive because I feel guilty for not being there for her. But this time, I let her natter on without interrupting or justifying, and did some light chores and while listening to her. I know I often like to vent rather than necessarily needing a solution to a problem. Although there are times when I do want a solution. 

It was the first time my mum didn’t seem too worried about my divorce, and ask me 20 questions about it, or tried to persuade me to reverse the situation. It’s nice that she’s just letting me be, and seems to have accepted it. That will make my trip home less stressful.