"If they find a little old lady on the bottom of this pool one day, they'll know who to blame!" - My favorite swim client, Dolores's weekly warnings to me before we start every session.
I've wanted to write this blog for a while, as it is something that has brought a smile back to my face. One of the great things I get to do for a living is teach people how to swim. Young or old, petrified of the water or seasoned swimmer. Somewhere in the middle is my first ever swim client, and by far my favorite. Her name is Dolores, and she's 83 years old. She stands just over 5 feet tall, although as she likes to remind me "in my day I was a good 5'3". I've shrunk dammit! Its all those years of running wrong, they had to fuse some vertebrae in my back 9 months ago, and they robbed me of height, not to mention the hospital bill."
The few phrases above is what makes Dolores a real treat - she's sharp, witty, funny, and absolutely no-nonsense. Of course, she's also 100% Italian, which makes it easy for me to relate to her background. Above all, she has no issue telling you how she feels. There's never a question as to how she feels on a daily basis, and what she wants to do. She started to swim as a way to stay active after surgery, and while in the pool, saw all these people doing laps, moving through the water so effortlessly, it intrigued her. One of those people was me. She didn't even know I worked at the health club, but she had no problem coming up to me one day and asking if I could teach her how to swim. She was abrupt and didn't mince words, and I appreciated that. I told her we would start the following week, on a Tuesday. And that began the journey of my Tuesday mornings with Dolores.
She's in the pool practicing drills a good half hour before I get there, and she is absolutely determined to learn how to swim correctly. She gets impatient with herself, pushes herself, and openly remarks how she refuses to do the water aerobics classes with the "old ladies waiting to die." To call her a pistol is putting it mildly. But every Tuesday at 10 am, there she is, swim cap and googles, kick board, and pull bouy, ready to go. The surgery makes it hard for her to get her left arm all the way out of the water to do freestyle, but damn if she doesn't try her best. And in the last 4 months, she has turned into a legitimate swimmer, doing laps, drill work, and always critiquing herself. The best part, she wants to get better. She may joke that I'm trying to drown her, but its the smile on her face after she accomplishes another goal in the water that tells me what she really thinks.
Over time we've talked, about her life in Italy, her family, other members of the club, fitness and anything else that sparks her on her drive to the gym. There is never a dull moment, and plenty of smiles, and when I am feeling my worst, watching Dolores work so hard, I'm reminded that its never too late to try something new, to face new challenges, to look for opportunities to stay young, to keep learning. I'm reminded of my own grandmother as I guide Dolores through her workout as she shares her words of wisdom with me, solicited or not. In short, she thinks women should take better care of themselves over the age of 60 so they don't get fat, that tattoos are ok, as long as it isn't some "hussy's" name, and that running is the most exhilirating experience in the world. And before her surgery, she ran all over the globe, at all different distances. And even though I promise her that I am always careful when I run, she still warns against too much of it. " You're Italian, you can't afford to lose any height" she'll tell me with a laugh. The best part -she never tells me if she likes the way I teach. But recently I ran into her daughter who is also a club member and with tears in her eyes told me, I had brought Dolores's smile back. And I couldn't help but cry a little too, realizing that it was that stoicism of her generation that kept her from sharing her thoughts with me. And I smiled realizing that she isn't tough for tough's sake; she's just one of a different breed from a different time whose eyes say "I've seen worse."
In a year of ups and downs, the last couple months of solid training and improved racing, mixed with teaching swimming to 6 year olds with non-stop questions, to my favorite gal, Dolores reminds me every week that you can't ever stop learning. b/b once you do, life does end. Dolores embodies living "UNSCARED". She didn't know how to swim when we met, but she was determined to change that. And with everything she was able to overcome to get to this point, well, let's just say I stopped complaining when my workout didn't go as planned some days.
I hope all of you who follow my post are lucky enough to recognize your own Dolores in your lives and take the opportunity to embrace their spirit and drive. I promise once you do, your life will definitely get better, your feet lighter, and your smile will return.
Stay strong,
Guy
