Making a Splash

One of my new things this month was joining a deep water excercise class at a local pool. I've been wanting to get to a pool for a long while now, but I keep hesitating for a variety of reasons. First, it seems like so many of the pools around here are in clubs or gyms that are pricier than I want to pay. I don't want the weight machines, ellipticals, exercise bikes, or handball courts. And I don't want a fancy pool club with cabanas and bar service. Second, I can't swim laps, so I don't want a pool with open pool hours that are so limited that I can't use it. Finally, I'm getting crotchety in my middle age, and I don't want a pool full of noisy, splashy kids, even if they are only screaming in delight.

Believe it or not, my first stop was the neighborhood nursing home. There's a wellness center there that only accepts members who are 50 plus, and I heard you could buy a punchcard pass for the pool only. It's a nice facility with a friendly staff, but their hours are definitely set for the early to bed/late to rise crowd. Not a good fit for this working gal. The idea of being at a pool with a middle-aged to geriatric crowd was pretty appealing, though. If there's any crowd where I can look better than average. I want to be in it, and when it comes to sags and wrinkles, I could be on the right side of the curve at a nursing home. Maybe. Still, it wasn't a good fit.

Then one day, I was driving down Galbraith Road in Cincy, and I passed Drake Hospital. Drake is a rehab hospital, so they have an amazing pool. They also open it up to the community. That day, as I passed, their flashing sign told me that I could sign up for aquatics classes there. A few days later, I stopped by for a tour and signed up on the spot for a deep water exercise class. I have to say, I fully expected to be the youngest person in the class (aquatics classes are recommended for the old and arthritic), but I was surprised to find that I was on the older side of the range.

The class is great, and the facility is perfect. The instructor mixes things up enough each class to keep it interesting, and it's a good workout. I love being in the water, and the all female class is filled with friendly women who seem to enjoy the water as much as I do. The facility? Well, the end of the pool bumps up against a floor to very high ceiling wall of windows, the water is clean and warm enough to allow you to walk right I without a shock, and the shower/changing room? I can't say enough sbout this feature! Because their patients are recovering from a variety of rehab issues, many of which force them to use wheel chairs and walkers, the locker room is filled with big, roomy shower stalls and dressing rooms. When I used to belong to the Y, I hated showering there. The tiny showers and tinier changing rooms were awkward, and I'd always emerge feeling like I'd worked myself up into a sweat just trying to shower and dress. Not at Drake, though.

I like almost everything about my new thing for July. I don't know how it will feel some cold December day, but for now, it's just right.


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