YOU’RE NEVER TOO…ANYTHING

 

            Between 17 August and 1 September, two events touched my life as few others have. The first was watching 17-year-old Leahi Camacho become the youngest swimmer to swim the 26 mile Moloka’i channel from Moloka’i to Oahu. The second was Diana Nyad’s triumph in her 103 mile swim from Cuba to Key West.

            Through a mutual friend of her father I was able to access a tracking map to follow Leahi’s progress. Although she’s unaware of it, when I swam my laps that day I went a mile with her.

            While she had a lot of support, I wonder how many well-meaning friends or relatives told her she was nuts. Long swim for someone so young. Think about it in a few years, when you’re older. Stronger. More mature.

            If this was the case, I’m happy she didn’t listen. She knew the risks involved and dove in headfirst to follow her heart.

            On the flip side, when are you too old to dream? Is it when you turn 60? Or maybe when you’ve blown out the candles on your 65^th birthday cake and are eligible for Medicare?

            It’s my personal belief when you’re too old to dream and learn you might as well plan the funeral. You’re already dead.  

            On that note, I turn to a new role model in my life. Diana Nyad. Four times she tried and failed to swim from Cuba to Florida. Did she give up? Not a chance. At the tender age of 64 she achieved her goal.

            Does this mean I’m going to attempt a long distance swim, like my two heroes? I don’t think so, but the thought is in the realm of possibility. But, for the time being, I’m happy to swim laps in a much smaller body of water.

            The pool is my think tank. Unfettered by gravity, my mind is free to tell me stories. With each stroke I’m closer to reaching my goals. To dream. To write.

             “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.” T.S. Eliot.