Lake Lesson

Hey!

I miss you.

I sure hope you are doing well!

But, you know what? I'm learning, alright. I hope you are too. And I can help you learn from my mistakes, if that's okay. Some people learn best by reading, some by doing, some by taking notes, etc. I learn best by making mistakes. 

Ha!

You might remember that I've been quite busy lately. I mean, that's why I scarcely get to this computer to write you your weekly love note. 

It's not you. It's me. Wink.

So I've been busy, alright, and some things have been falling by the wayside as they say. I don't like that feeling.

Life ebbs and flows, however, and we just need to roll with it. But there are some things, like those good things that we do for ourselves to keep us sane and at peak performance that often get left on the side of the road.

Hint: try not to do that.

Starting in April of 2022, I decided to start doing cold water immersion.  Some people sit in ice baths up to their neck for as long as they can stand it. Some people take cold showers.

I have this large and lovely just-above-freezing body of water right down the road. 

I chose the lake.

Her Majesty, Lake Superior, that is!

My first try was 17 seconds in that beautiful frigid beast up to my neck. I made it 48 seconds the second time. Then I surpassed a whole minute!

I was trying to go in once or twice a week because it made me feel sooooooo good... after I got out and warmed up, of course! Let there be no doubt that lake is cold. I brought a thermometer in one time, and when I pulled it out, the mercury was at 33 degrees F.

Coming back to an icy shore

My point is that I was making this wonderfully exhilarating event part of my weekly routine. I was feeling sharp, full of energy and full of life.

Then I got "busy."

Wah waaaaaah.

I was doing all the things I mentioned in my last post plus all the other parts of life that I don't need to bore you with. We all have life to deal with. 

And we should be so lucky.

But let's learn and get it right, okay?

So after a month and a half of busyness taking over my "me time," (that's right, I didn't go in for 6 weeks!) I decided to go back into the lake. Just last week.

I was alone, and I had no towel, but I worked with what I had. I could absolutely feel that I had to get in there. I couldn't take it anymore!!!

So I went in for about 30 seconds at my favorite beach.

As I emerged, the sun warmed the beach rocks just enough, so I could warm myself.

Once I got to shore and felt humanness return, I sat in the rocks and then -- well, let me tell you what my journal says for that day.

    Then I sobbed.

    Sobbed and sobbed.

    "I missed you!" I cried to Her Majesty. (Repeatedly)

    "I needed that." I wailed. (Repeatedly)

    I came out and felt like a totally stripped down version of myself.

    I was not a mom. Or a deputy clerk. Or a girlfriend. Or a mountain bike coach. Or anything.

    I. Just. Was.

Yeah... I needed that!

And all the stress I had been feeling was rinsed away because I realized that I was putting it all on myself to be all those things in such a capacity that I was over-extending me.

Does this sound like anyone you know? Do you do this? How do you real yourself back in when you do?

More often than not we commit to more than we can handle. There are so many facets to life, and, in a way, it's fulfilling to be a part of as much as we can. But we must remember to always take care of ourselves or we'll have nothing left for other people, other jobs, other passions and other hobbies.

Whether this resonates with you or not, I thought it was worth sharing.

And, hey, if you ever want to try cold water immersion, I know a great place to go!