Swimming Lessons

Dorothy knew that I wasn’t a strong swimmer, but what she didn’t know was that I really couldn’t swim at all...

I am gliding through water, lap after lap, eyes open, focused on the blue line at the bottom of the pool, concentrating on my breath, the rhythmic motion of my arms and legs. At 65 years old, I have just learned to swim.

“You must promise me something,” my friend Dorothy asked that winter. We were looking forward to the first two weeks in July when we’d …