February is for Connection
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LESSONS FROM THE WATER READ PREVIOUS ARTICLES WEBSITE SCHEDULE SUBSTACK Hi there, I’ve been quiet for a few weeks — heads down finishing the prep for something I’ve been building toward for months. Last week, I watched six people swim across a bay they’d never seen before. Not once, not twice, but day after day for the entire week. Complete strangers to each other, they’d been training with me since October — scattered across the country, doing laps in their local pools all winter, building…
Am I trying to prove something? In my last note, I hinted at a swim that’s been tugging at me. It’s not just about finishing something I started—it’s about revisiting what it means to give myself permission. Despite being a lifelong swimmer, adapting to open water hasn’t come easily for me. I remember a time when I just wanted to get out of open water. I was terrified—of what was underneath, of what I couldn’t see, of the unknown. First, it was fear. Then it was performance. For a long time,…
What experience won’t protect you from Do you ever catch yourself thinking, “I should have this all figured out by now”? Maybe you’ve been swimming for years. You’ve mastered the strokes, conquered goals, built confidence through repetition. What could you possibly have in common with someone just learning how to float? This week, a thoughtful mom joined me for a 3 day mini swim camp with her 7-year-old daughter. Sure, mom could swim further and faster—but what struck me was her willingness…
Reflections from the water Reflections | News | Updates Summer Edition Time has felt particularly fluid lately. Maybe it’s the hours I spend in the water. Water has an astounding way of making me feel ageless. When I’m having tea parties with six year olds in swim lessons every day, am I really edging past the half century mark? Or am I still a 10 year old diving for quarters at the pool with my friends? Hard to say in the moment. On Sunday, I completed my 7th—astounding even to me—17km trip…
Time moves in circles How can the same 24 hours feel so incredibly long? Yesterday had 24. The day before too. But now—on the eve of my 50-mile swim—time moves slowly, each moment stretched… Here I sit, exactly 24 hours before we head to the dock to set out for my 50-mile swim. I know this moment will never happen again—no moment ever will—but this one feels particularly poignant. The last few weeks have been vacation hours: soaking up the big city of Boston, then maritime meanderings in…
One Breath at a Time Is it just me, or did it surprise you too when we came back from the long Thanksgiving weekend and it was suddenly December? Sure, I’ve been hearing Christmas music in stores since before Halloween, but it still felt like the season changed overnight. Monday arrived and I found myself staring at the list of everything I wanted to wrap up before the end of the year—wondering how on earth I was going to fit it all into four jam-packed weeks studded with holiday events. I…