Swim or Die

It's not all my fault. My fatness, that is. I took it in the shorts in the gene pool. My birth mother met an untimely death at the age of 56 because she was fat. Actually the cause of death was a stroke during surgery to correct circulatory issues due to diabetes. But, she had diabetes because she was fat. She had high blood pressure because she was fat. This was due to that and that was due to this but the bottom line is that she was fat and it killed her. So as I approach my 50th birthday I have decided to try and fix my leaky gene pool by spending more time in a chlorinated pool. I have three half sisters that I have never met but I understand that I am the tall, skinny one of the bunch so maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but I will. I have high blood pressure because I am fat. I have diabetes because I am fat. I have constant pain in my feet caused by peripheral neuropathy because I am fat. Because of the pain in my feet it is difficult for me to find an aerobic activity that I can stay with and swimming seems to be the answer. Although even the pressure of the water on my feet hurts but it does not even come close to the pain of walking. Swimming in winter in Oregon must be done inside. My palatial estate does not include an indoor swimming pool. The answer was to join the fancy-scmancy health club only one mile from my home. One mile exactly, door to door, I clocked it today. Today was day two. I am hoping that when school starts up again that I will be able to continue. I swim laps in the very cold lap pool. Then as a treat after 40 minutes I switch to the warm pool.....it's wonderful. Then as another treat I slip into the hot tub for a few minutes, although I don't know if I will do that again. I am not, as a rule, a rule follower but as I was stewing in the hot tub I happened to be facing the "Rules of Spa Use" and I was breaking just about all of them. Don't use the spa alone. I was alone. Don't use the spa if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. I have both. Don't use the spa if you are on prescription medications without first consulting your physician. I am and I did not. I am such a rebel. Maybe tomorrow I will enter the pool without first taking a "cleansing shower." I am swimming as if my life depends on it.