In a Chaotic World, Life Makes Sense at the Pool

Courtesy: Elizabeth Spencer Rosenthal

Sometimes life can feel hectic, and the world around us seems hard to understand. We may feel like we are frantically treading water, trying hard just to remain above the surface.

But I know a place where everything makes sense. And that’s at the pool!

Swim life demands Order, and that can be comforting in an uncertain world.

That’s why there is an Order of Events and Order of Finish. There is order to a relay, too — who leads off, who anchors, and on a medley relay, who swims which stroke, always in the same sequence.

You probably practice at the same time every day, for the same number of hours. You’ll take the same number of strokes from the flags to the wall. You may rush to eat the same protein bar after dryland, and carry the same water bottle, too. Whatever else is going on in your life, when you dive in, all that matters is the next stroke, the next set. The rest gets washed away.

Swimming is methodical. It’s by the numbers. On race day, you’ll step up to the block based on your event number, heat number, and lane number. And If the meet is scheduled to start at 9 a.m., you can be sure that at 8:59, the full heat of competitors will be lined up behind their lanes, waiting for the referee’s whistle to signal that their race is about to begin.

Once the swimmers take their marks, there are rules that dictate virtually every aspect of how each race will be swum. How many yards or meters? Must you be on your back or breast? How many hands must touch the wall on your turn or at the finish?

For those who thrive on order, Meet Warmup — the period that precedes the first race — often gets a bad rap, I would argue unfairly. At first glance, it can seem like an unruly frenzy of frantic water creatures, going every which way in rush hour traffic. But in reality, even in the midst of meet warmup mania, there is a certain order to things. Your team may be assigned to a particular lane at a designated time. And don’t forget: feet-first entry only! Unless of course, the lane is designated for starts. And then you can feel free to dive right in. There really is a method to the madness!

Kids learn from a very young age how to make sense of swim meet mayhem, with a little grid drawn on their arm in Sharpie. Like a cheat sheet, it’s a quick summary of how their day will go. (In addition to writing their key event information, they may also decorate themselves and their friends with cute pictures and fun phrases like, “Eat My Bubbles!”) They quickly form bonds with their teammates, who become their trusted training partners and best lane buddies.

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, and for many, including myself, the pool may seem like the most beautiful place in the world. In the legendary Broadway musical, “A Chorus Line,” there is a poignant number called, “At the ballet,” in which the characters sing wistfully about choosing a life at the ballet over the stress and strife in their home lives. “Everything was beautiful at the ballet,” they crooned — a touching tribute to the escape from reality that they found in the beauty of the ballet. And so it is for many who find their solace at the swimming pool.

If show tunes aren’t really your jam, perhaps you can relate more to the iconic TV series Cheers! Like the popular Boston pub (but without the beer), when you come to the pool, you’re instantly part of something bigger, with a broader extended family. As the legendary theme song goes,“You wanna go where everybody knows your name.”

And not just because it’s on your swim cap!

At the pool, your name really may be everywhere: emblazoned in block letters on the side of your head, on the heat sheet, the scoreboard or on your name badge — your teammates, parents and coach may call it loudly as they cheer for you. But that perhaps misses the point — Just as Cheers! was a place where everyone felt understood and appreciated, the pool also provides a sense of familiarity, a community of belonging. Nobody is a stranger at the pool.

Like Billy Joel’s Piano Man, perhaps you’ve come to the pool “to forget about life for a while.” But when the day is done and the final warm down has been swum (and surely you swam all of it!), you’ll pack up your gear and head out into the world, leaving behind the comfortable confines of the pool. Back to real life and all of its regular responsibilities, perhaps to eat, sleep or talk to a friend. But don’t worry, be happy— because in about 12 hours, you’ll wake up, grab your bag, and head back to the pool to do it all again.

ABOUT ELIZABETH SPENCER ROSENTHAL

Elizabeth Spencer Rosenthal is a wife and mother of 3 from Miami. She is a passionate swim mom, volunteer and meet official, with a professional background in marketing and public relations. She holds a degree in Public Communication from American University, and loves finding a story to tell.