IT'S ONLY WORDS!

The words 'boring' and 'obsessive', can often be confused with their more positive counterparts, 'focused' and 'dedicated'.  The same could be said for 'willful' and 'stupid'. That is how I am describing myself, and my current state of play.  I have become very dedicated to the welfare of my seedlings and am totally 'focusing' people when describing my efforts!  The 'greenhouse' is now quite the showroom, and although the butternut squash is taking its time to bloom, I am nurturing, and attempting to encourage the seeds to sprout.  It may well be that I am 'focusing' them too!  "Is this what we get to look forward to, before being cut off in our prime, and put into a furnace!"  It is highly possible that word has got around!  

Dedication is often also misconstrued for downright 'stupid', or as my neighbour says in a far more caring way, 'a bit crazy'.  Saying someone is 'a bit crazy', does not sound quite as bad as 'you stupid idiot!' but then again, is she just being kind.  Of course, I now refer to my other 'dedicated' activity of swimming.  This week was the pivotal point to where things changed.

High winds and a 'cooler front' were responsible for many of my decisions.  The last of the summer heat was reluctantly giving way to the cooler autumnal temperatures, and although the sun shone, and fought, it was losing ground.  Somewhere between the emitting rays and us mortals, stood a chilly plateau that cooled down the fiery sparks.  Monday was the last real day of summer for me.  The temperatures were still warm enough for me to swim in the evening, but I knew the end of the season was soon to come.

Watching the skies on Tuesday really was a pointless exercise.  It was pointless because I knew what was going to happen, and I knew what I was going to do.  I would go home, I would swim, I would tend to my plants, and I would look at the time when making dinner and wonder why I went through the routine!  The trees outside my office started to blow quite wildly,, and I checked the temperature on my phone several times during the course of the afternoon, as if it would make the slightest bit of difference.  The 'forewarned is forearmed' saying, was not relevant.  It was more like expecting the inevitable, seeing the inevitable, and then looking again in case there was a change.  

After swimming, and convincing myself that I was quite in my right mind in doing so, I returned home.  I was going to read for a while, but after remembering to take my towel, hoodie, bug spray and water, I had forgotten my book!  I considered it somewhat of a disaster, as the time for reading is now minimised and I had just started a new book!  However, there was preparation to be done!  We were expecting a heavy storm during the early hours, and I was not going to be caught out again!  My garden needed to be prepared!  I took the pots out of their stands, which hold water, and covered some of the newer shrubs, so that they would not drown.  Once I had everything in place, I felt a lot happier.  I tended to those in the 'greenhouse' but they did not need to be moved.  

Although the storm was meant to arrive around three in the morning, it came in an hour late.  I suppose that is the prerogative of a storm!  It bows to no man!  I saw the sparks and heard the thunder, but it was not as rough as those in the past.  By the time Dana left for work, I was convinced it would go on all morning.  However, around six thirty, the noise stopped.  I checked my garden and all was well.  I had done a good job!  At least in my eyes, I had done a good job!  I was very 'focussed'.  I opened my front door and listened.  Although it was till too early for the birds, I could hear planes.  I decided that if they were low enough to be heard, they must be landing or taking off, which meant that the storm had passed!  "Well done!" said my husband, who having been an air traffic controller, smiled at the fact that I had worked this out for myself!  He thought it was rather clever! I thought I was brilliant!

"Did you get rain or just noise", asked the lady in our office building. I have no idea where she lives, and she has no idea as to where I reside, but she always asks the same question.  "Both", I replied. "Me too" she said, and that was the extent of our conversation for the day, and it confirmed that it is not just the English who are 'focused' on and 'dedicated' to conversations about weather!  

The sharp intake of breath on Wednesday evening was enough to convince me of my madness.  I would have to give up the afternoon swim.  The question was, 'when'?  Could I make it into November?  I remembered the first year I had my wetsuit, and how I had tried to avoid everyone when venturing down to the water so as not to be seen.  It has now become a badge of honour!  In fact, one of my neighbours had used it as a combatant when his friend suggested the water was not that cold.  He asked me, "How's the water?" to which I replied, "A little chilly".  His friend dipped in a toe.  "It's not that bad", he said, like a child trying to prove to his friend that he was braver.  (Yes, really!)  "Tracie wears a wetsuit", said my neighbour. The friend scoffed, "It's not cold enough for a wetsuit", and my neighbour replied, "Well she swims all year round at six in the morning, so it is wetsuit weather when she swims in the winter!"  I was about to say, "I don't swim at six", but thought better of it. I was also about to say, "Why is this person your friend?"  By the time they had left the poolside, I think my neighbour was wondering the same thing!  However, I digress.

The temperatures did drop quite considerably overnight.  The water was still warm on Thursday morning, but the air was not.  I watched the temperature throughout the day, as if there was a possibility that my constant checking would make a difference. This is Austin, so there is every chance it will change, but rather than rely on technology to tell me that there is a chance of a 40 mile and hour gust, or that it will get a little chillier, I should listen to my own advice, and go and stand outside for a couple of minutes.

I went home, and donned the swimming costume.  No one was at the pool, which was hardly a surprise, but not even my new neighbour, the one from my story, who is actually real, was sitting in his usual chair!  Yes, I have allowed him to have 'a' chair!  The water was warm, but the wind so strong, I found it hard to keep in a straight line!  Of course, my friend Lesley (one of my oldest friends) would say that I have never been able to swim in a straight line, and remind me of the time when we were disqualified from the races, because we kept bumping into each other.  The water was very cold then!  We were competing in the 'backstroke' event, and without defined lanes, there was no way I could see where I was going!  All I knew was that I could not feel my hands or feet, and sitting on a chair made of ice, with an ice-cream sundae in my hand would have been much warmer!  Being disqualified after the event was awful!  The disqualification was such a blow mainly because we had to finish the race before we were told, and could have been out of the arctic conditions a whole lot sooner had they decided to let us know during the event!  However, I digress.  I could not keep straight because of the wind! I had emptied the skimmers in the morning, as I was unsure as to whether the pool man had made it to our 'neck of the woods' on Wednesday, and they were full.  Raul told me that he would have checked them, but I told him I was doing my good deed for the day! I emptied the skimmers after I got out of the pool, and they were full.  The wind was picking up and once again, I chose to defy nature and sat down for ten minutes to read.  It was no good.  Twigs were flying at me like spears, and debris had started to fill the air, making my eyes smart.  I returned home.

All was calm on Friday, and although somewhat cooler, it was not cold.  Our pool guy arrived as I finished swimming, and I told him that I did not envy him having to clean the mess that sat on the bottom of the water.  It was a carpet of leaves!

Once work was over, I decided to give it 'one more try'.  There is always a 'one more try' with me, and until it is impossible, there will be that 'one more try'.  Perhaps I can get another wet suit for the afternoon, I thought.  "Why not just quit?" said the voice in my head, which I knew was not me, as I would have said 'stop', rather than use the 'Americanism'.  I did read for a while too, although not for too long as it was a bit chilly.  Sitting in my swimming costume, with my hoodie zipped up and the hood on, is a bit bizarre even by my own standards!

The plants were doing quite well during the sudden drop in temperature.  In fact the peppers were flourishing, and the tomatoes had seemed to enjoy the wet and then warmth of the sun, despite the cold plateau that had taken away the overwhelming heat.  The tomato plants are bearing bunches of tiny green fruit, turning a pale orange, and then red within a few days.  The seedlings appeared to be happy.  The lone butternut squash did not seem to mind being an 'only child'.  

Saturday convinced me that Sunday may not be a swimming day.  It was cold in the morning, and felt freezing in the afternoon.  However, my daughter had found a gadget at Walmart, and for $2, I was now the proud owner of a pool thermometer!  Forget the seaweed, this was an actual piece of equipment!  70 degrees it read on Saturday afternoon.  I am my own worst enemy.   My neighbour (the real neighbour, not the one in the story) was sitting in my chair!  I chose to remain silent as he is too new to know the rules, and I had already decided to sit for a while in the chair that was in the sun!  70 degrees outside is a lot warmer than 70 degrees in water!  However, once in, I thought I may as well swim!  My 'focus' and 'dedication', can be interpreted any which way, and although people attempt to give me a look of admiration, I can pretty much tell what they are thinking.  "She is bonkers!"  However, one word that is not misconstrued is 'determined'.  This particular word can be interpreted as any of the above! 

"You are crazy swimming in this weather", laughed a neighbour as I got out of the pool this morning.  At last, someone who was honest! "I can't believe you are still out there in this weather.  You are nuts!"  I responded that I am 'determined', (rather than dedicated,) and very dedicated and focused.  "Nuts!" she replied.  I laughed.  I could only assume she meant this to mean 'crazy' rather than to use the term that was said by General McAuliffe at Bastogne!  

Whether or Weather will be the two words that are used in the coming 24 hours!  Will she, wont she?  It will be the first day of November, and therefore, a bit wintry.  I dug out the gloves and boots that came with the wetsuit, all those years ago, and contemplated wearing them this morning, but forgot to take them with me!  I was half asleep, but work up quite quickly!  Whether the weather will allow may be the 'focusing' and 'dedicated' points of ............. another story!