disturb the waters

i have spent a great deal of time this summer immersed. whether at the beach, or in a river, i have kept myself in my element on a regular basis.

this sunday while tubing down the delaware, i decided to take off a shirt, since the clouds had disbursed and i was nice and toasty. i had been in and out of the water a lot by that point, my tube had no mesh seat, as it were. which was to my liking, i could just lift up my legs and arms and disappear into the murky waters.

mind you, this is where i belong, in the water, not on the water. i didn't ever think that anything bad would, or could, happen. so when my arms got stuck behind my back and i'm sitting in a tube floating, there is no option for me other than lifting my legs and dropping into the delaware.

of course, dear reader, i'm sure you know, what i discovered. one cannot swim with one's arms behind one's back. my bad. not only was the shirt behind my back but at some point in my descent into the depths, it covered my face completely. so when i emerged, i was looking through a shirt at the filtered light of day and kicking my feet lightly, with my arms behind my back. the shirt is now houdini's straight jacket, or might as well have been, and i am in the water.

a couple things crossed my mind at this point, as i see the tubes floating before me and i am trying to decide what to do. first, i realize, i just have to breathe. there is nothing impeding my breathing. just a shirt covering my head and binding my arms. my legs are free, i'm still kicking, as they say, so i just breathe. and in my typical stubborn way, refuse to die.

my options are pretty limited at this point, as you can imagine. honestly, i'm not sure how the shirt came off, i think i went back under the water to get out of the shirt, which was pretty tight on my face, but it was the only real option i had. when i did that, it gave a little slack on my arms which i was able to wriggle free in the water.

at this point, my tubing buddies are saying,

are you okay?

i am still wrestling in the water, but manage to fling the shirt up and off, and hook an arm around the tube. i think the first words i uttered were,

that was really dumb!

but here i am, still kicking. still planning on throwing myself in the atlantic tomorrow, provided it is not too cold yet. i hope it is not. i love the water. i need the water. the winter is tough for me. but i take to salted baths.

if you have never gone tubing down the delaware, it is the most luxuriously peaceful venture ever. i highly recommend it. be sure, if you're not a strong swimmer, you wear a life vest, some parts are deep, and if you're a dork like me and throw yourself in hampered, it might just save your life.