Learning to Swim

So often in life, we get caught up in the day to day business of living – our schedules run our lives.  But if we just take a moment, we can discover treasures hidden in day to day life.  I found such a treasure in a simple conversation with my mom.

My mother is in town this weekend, “visiting”…. well, helping me take care of my kids.  Over the last couple of days, we have had a bit of time to chat and catch up with each other.

My mom is an active person:  hiking, biking, and going to the gym.  I would say that she works out several hours a day.  Now, this is inspiration in itself, but there was something else that she mentioned that caught my attention.  My mom has taught herself how to swim.    This is a great accomplishment.  I have not seen my mom get into any kind of water for a very long time.  She told me that when she started, she wouldn’t let go of the side of the pool.  Then, as she became more confident and was able to let go of the side, she couldn’t pick her feet up off the bottom.   Now, she tells me that she swims 100 widths of the pool each time that she goes.  Amazing.

I was thinking about the saying, “learn something new everyday” when I listened to mom tell about her swimming.  Learning new things has many benefits.  We are happier and more alert when we learn new things or make new accomplishments.  When we learn, we are delaying or reducing age-related problems.  Learning fights boredom and helps us adapt to new situations.  It deepens our character, makes us more confident and helps us inspire someone else.

My mother is my inspiration!

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