Swimming at Bedok Swimming Complex

Posted by Precious on 7/15/10 • Categorized as me,swimming

Last week, I put on my mangy bathing suit and went swimming. I’d forgotten what a water girl I am.

I swam the breaststroke, backstroke, and a few self-invented strokes. I pretended that I was a Bosch Drill and twisted my body round and round in one direction, then turned and did the same in the opposite direction. I did backflips and other postures that I would not have been able to achieve outside the pool. It was fun, the body-stretching felt really good afterwards, and I wish a fitness expert would invent a new kind of Water-Pilates like Water-robics.

But did you know, I don’t always like to swim.

When I was very young, I loved to swim! Like how other children wait a whole year for their birthday, asking and exasperating their parents till the day arrives, I agitatedly wait for Saturdays when Dad would take us to Ayer Keroh Country Club for a swim.

The first time I got to AKCC, I ran to the pool and dove in with my shoes and clothes on. Mum was horribly embarrassed. I loved waterplay so much, I was angry when Mum decided that I should spend Saturdays playing the piano instead.

When I was a teenager, I didn’t like swimming anymore because after every swim, I’d have to spend hours combing gently to disentangle the afro on my head. My hair is not the type that you can run a comb through easily. The hours of grooming just to look like a sane person didn’t seem worth the swim.

When I was a young adult, swimming gave me the space to reflect but the reflections, far from being therapeutic, disturbed me. I felt trapped in my own thoughts and hated it.

So, it’s been a while since I’d had a good swim. I’m really glad that I’d learned it when I was too young to care about entangled hair or deep thoughts. And I’m ectstatic that last week, I splashed into the pool again.

I guess there were seasons when I was like these baby otters who tried their very best to escape from having to swim. Their Mum was so persistent, they didn’t get any say.