Saturday Surprise Splash!

Once again th

e local gym is the backdrop for a comedy of ‘coincidences’.

So much for sleeping in on a Saturday morning … my husband arranged to gym with a friend at 9am! I dragged myself out of bed and into my bather. This way I know that I will definitely be awake by the time I hit the water. Our usual routine when we get to the club is that we walk together to the rail and then Andre tells me which lane is free to swim in – this way I am less likely to barge headlong into another swimmer. This morning he said that the pool was full of aqua aerobic fans and the other lane was occupied with a private lesson. I slunk off to the change rooms to ponder my dilemma of what to do in a bathing suit for an hour!

As I reached the end cove where I usually change, I literally bumped into my friend Sally – she is a real go getter, who has also been dealt a life card from somewhere near the bottom of the deck. She was dressed for the aqua class and so my problem collided with an opportunity and I heard myself saying, “Hey Sal, I’ll join you if you show me what to do”. The next minute one half blind and one half lame lady were heading towards the class which had just begun.

We slid in amongst the bobbing bodies and joined the jolliness of it all. I could not really see the lady instructor but the commands were clear and descriptive and I think I was kind of doing the right thing. (The advantage of being in water is that if you splash a lot no one can really see what you are doing). As the professional instructor was wearing black and the background tiles are charcoal grey, I could only see the white soles of her trainers which were funny, but useful for me to follow the leg actions. It did, however, leave me guessing about the arm flailing. Fortunately neighbouring water nymphs explained to me in pictures …like hammer throw position or barrel rolls towards you. I was previously fearful about doing a class without being able to see the instructor, but with a little help I didn’t make an entire fool of myself. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will go back for more.

To top it all, I did not know that it was a water class promotion day … with lucky draws, chocolate muffins and class photos. When they drew the winners’ names it was “Sally” and the next prize went to “Jenny”. I think the rest of the class thought we had rigged it! What a wonderful surprise splash for two blessed friends.

Maybe next time I will offer the instructor two white wristbands so that I can see her arms too.

rows of bouncing caps