One of the first things they teach you in swim class is how to tread water. It's an important skill to have if you're a swimmer. The reason you should know how to tread water is if you ever find yourself in deep water, on purpose or by accident, you will no longer be unable to function. Treading water enables you to keep your head above water for long periods of time lessening the chances of the swimmer drowning.
Too bad life outside of the water doesn't have a similar maneuver. I could've used that over the past few years. Losing special people left me feeling like I was drowning in a sea of grief.
I guess the passage of time is the closest thing to a "treading water" move in life. With the passage of time comes peace, acceptance, and the knowledge that life goes on.
People come. People go. Little life preservers thrown in your path to help get you through the rough patches. Friends are always there when you need them. We become less dependent on them as time moves forward. We "tread water" so we can continue to breathe. Then we start to swim again.
Butterfly stroke, breast stroke, front crawl, and backstroke. We do them all in an effort to get on with our lives. We go out. We meet people. We date. We laugh. We cry. We hope. We hurt. We love. We reminisce. We search for someone we can trust.
We find someone that seems too good to be true. We tread water while we wait for them to show their true selves because we all know no one's this good this fast. We tread water so we don't fall head over heels for someone who might end up disappointing us. And then we swim. Full speed ahead into the abyss. Hoping against all hope that he's truly what he appears to be. Good. Sweet. Kind. Honest. Loving. Sensitive. Caring.
The good thing about treading water is that it buys time so the swimmer doesn't panic and drown.
There will be no drowning today. Not here anyway. The time that I buy treading water will allow me to see things through eyes that aren't panicked.
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