The Pool

I’m jogging as hard as can and listening to the voice of Johnnie Mathis singing, “You Are My Special Angel.” The music of my youth makes the workout easier. I hear the voice of our instructor saying, “Come on, knees up, abs in. Faster.” The sweat begins to drip into my eyes, which seems like a strange thing to be happening in the deep end of the pool. I’m in my deepwater aerobics class, the perfect exercise for people with bad knees, trying to keep this old body in shape. “OK, leap over the barrel,” shouts the instructor. I begin simulating the motion of leaping over barrels and watch the heads of my classmates bobbing up and down in the water. We wear a flotation device as we jog and ski and leap through the water. I hear the Everly Brothers singing about poor, old Tom Dooley and we all “ring the bell,” which means we pull our knees up and swing back and forth like the clapper in a big church bell. This is fun and really works the tummy muscles. After an hour of working as hard as can we come to the edge of the pool for a few minutes of stretching and class is over. We are all tired, but several us head over to the smaller, warmer therapy pool for the Aqua yoga class. This is a very relaxing time of easy stretching and quiet meditation. The music in the background is soft and dreamy. I can balance on one leg and move into dancer or eagle pose. The water holds me up and I relax in its warmth. I hate to see this class end, but it always does. I head for the dressing room and get ready to face the rest of my day.