I don’t know how to swim. Whenever I tell people this, I’m often quizzed with “What do you mean you can’t swim?”
Here’s how I like to think of it. If a boat capsized in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, would I be able to survive without any flotation device for the next hour until I was rescued? The answer is a violent no.
Despite spending a lot of time in pools when I was a kid, over time, I have lost the ability to swim. Also just because you spend a lot of time in the pool doesn’t mean you learn technique. Dog paddling is not a technique! That’s like saying if you bang on the keyboard enough, you know how to play the piano.
I also learned in my early teens that I’m allergic to chlorine. Swimming in a pool or even in the ocean which has trace amounts of chlorine would result in a rash all over my body. The only way I could avoid a rash was by swimming in reservoirs. How convenient!
I may have outgrown the allergy. I’m actually not sure, but now I just do a vigorous scrub in the shower as soon as I’m out of the pool. No more rashes, but I still can’t swim.
How can you resist this pool at the vacation home we rented in Palm Springs? Heaven all to ourselves.
What about you? Can you swim?
Can you survive a capsized boat?
I would definitely not be able to resist that pool!! Incredible. And I rarely actually swim- just lounge 🙂
ah we are one in the same. i just lounge and doggy paddle!
I can’t swim at all…too afraid of the water. I’ve almost drowned like 4 times…definitely couldn’t survive the capsized boat!
taylor, i left out (because i didn’t think it added to the story) that i almost drowned when i was in elementary school. i also almost drowned when i tried to go scuba diving. it just wasn’t meant to be!
A really beautiful pool.
I love swimming, though I prefer the sea to a pool – I really don’t like the smell of chlorine.
Glad you had fun 😀
while i love the beach, i am fearful of the ocean or the sea. there is potential to get swept away and die, especially since i can’t swim. in a pool, at least i can clutch onto the side of the pool like a madwoman scared for her life!
Bless your boots 🙂
That pool is amazing! I would so not be able to resist getting in it. I’ve never heard of a chlorine allergy – but I’m glad you’ve had no rashes (whether you outgrew it or it’s due to the showers). Also? No clue if I’d survive a boat accident in the ocean. I can swim, but for how long? Unsure.
to know how to swim is an important and necessary skill indeed! i’m glad you have it. i believe there’s always room to learn even at my age, but the problem is accessing a pool or body of water to practice. i say this, but at the same time, i think there’s one at my gym. DOH!
I can swim but I don’t know how long I’d survive in the water. I am not a strong swimmer, although I was at one point as a child. I’m not sure how long I would last treading water. My kids and husband are far better swimmers than I am.
you run, swim, and blog…seriously, what do you NOT do?!
I don’t really swim much myself, but I do love being in the poo. And that pool is awesome. Hope you are having a great time and definitely just a bit jealous looking at your photos!! 🙂
haha jeanine, i think i was the one who got jealous looking at all the pool pictures at your in-laws. so i had to go out and seek it for myself!
I am so glad I found your blog this week – it’s so refreshing to read your posts. I can’t swim, with technique. The difference is that I can dog and frog paddle and even do a fake breaststroke enough to survive, but I don’t know how long that would last. I like to wade and float and laze, but I can’t really swim well. One thing I don’t tell many people is that I don’t know how to dive. I’ve never been able to do it. My swimming instructor gave up on me when I was a kid. I can cannonball like the best of them, but I can’t dive. It’s a bit of a phobia.
tamara, i have never heard of a frog paddle. you must demonstrate. either that or i had the worst lessons in the history of swimming. my poor mum needs to get her money back! i can definitely see the fear of diving. it doesn’t really seem naturally to go head-first into anything…no matter what it is. not even a beautiful pool of water.
I can swim, but am still not sure I could survive a capsized boat! 😉 That house is GORGEOUS!! And the pool looks absolutely perfect!-Ashley
we’ve got another swimmer! i think i’m half and half on commenters who can vs cannot swim. ashley you can teach us non-swimmers all your gorgeous strokes and techniques. you gotta do a vlog! that would be hilarious. do a vlog showing all the different swimming techniques sporting highlights from your pinterest collection!
I love Palm Springs! And yes that pool is irresistible. I would say I’m a decent swimmer, my mom had me in swim lessons from the day I could walk. We even took survival classes where you have to learn how to take your clothes off in the pool, float in a way to conserve energy, and use your pants for a flotation device. I’m not as strong as I used to be though! I hope you had a great time in Palm Springs!
stevie, what you had qualifies as navy-seal-like training! where was that instructor when i was learning how to tread water?! i wish i had better training. maybe i can still take lessons. i’m pretty bad though so i’ve kinda given up hope. maybe i’ll learn when my kid learns.
The pool and the views are amazing.
I am a decent swimmer. I learned as a young kid. Also, I learned water survival in the Navy. You would be amazed how many people do not know how to swim when they join the Navy. I was one of a few in my boot camp company to pass the swim test (jump in from 30 feet, swim 50 yards and tread water for five minutes) on the first try.
Trust me on this, if a boat capsized, your survival instinct will take over and I think will remember enough to be all right and find something to grab on to.
patrick, i will be lucky enough to grab onto you, mr. navy seal!!!
A photographer friend of mine can’t swim either and he said he’s always wanted to learn, but he’s a little embarrassed to ask someone to teach him. I tried to plant the seed that he could take private lessons, that way he learns from a professional. Hopefully he gets over his embarrassment and does it.
As for you, man it would suck being allergic to chlorine! I do hope that you’ve grown out of it. We just moved to Portland, Ore. and many of the pools here are saltwater ones so that you’re not swimming in chemicals, which I think is kinda cool.
To be honest, I’m not much of a swimmer, I took lessons as a kid and can do well enough. It’s weird, but I’m much better swimming in a mermaid like fashion underwater than the whole stroke, stroke, breathe bit. And if I was in a capsized boat, my rescuers better come quick because seriously there’s only so long that I could tread water. 🙂
i was thinking that when i have a kid, i can just “learn” when they are learning. there’s also a pool at my gym, but i don’t think they give lessons. they kind of assume you know what to do, then you just sign up for a lane. i’m already such a bad swimmer that if i capsized i would panic and drown immediately!
I love to swim but my husband does not. Our college required everyone to pass a swimming test freshman year or you had to take lessons until you were competent enough to pass the test. He flunked. While I was taking racquetball and badminton in PE, he was stuck in swim lessons. Poor guy….
i wish my college had a mandatory swim test, then maybe i would have learned! i’m still holding out hope that i’ll “pick it up” when my kid is learning how to swim. dean was actually trying to teach me some strokes in the pool, but i was not a good student 🙁
I can’t really swim either. Swimming lessons are not a priority when you grow up on a farm. My neighbors had a pool, so I practiced dog paddling and back floating when I babysat there kids for a summer. I also took swimming lessons when I was in my 30’s which helped with treading water. I think if you don’t learn when you are a kid you will never be comfortable sticking your head under water. Also, as I get older I am less interested in being in water.
i’ll go into any pool of water as long as i can A) clutch onto the sides, or B) stand. oceans and seas are completely off limits. i definitely have a fear of swimming so there’s no way i’ll ever get really comfortable with it. at least i recognize my limits!
Ha! I can’t swim either. I would drown if tossed into the water. I can doggy paddle but not for long so I know it would save me. I had lessons as a kid but never could get it. I’m just going to say my bones are too heavy! Even though I know they aren’t.
haha cece, good to know another person who would drown along side me! thank you for commenting, i am following you now on bloglovin!
Move to Texas and lets be friends and just lounge by the pool! I think I am the only person in Texas who does not know how to swim, I can stay afloat, but like you said doggy paddle does not count.
i can’t think of a better thing in life than lounging by the pool. ok maybe a really good glass of chardonnay and lounging by the pool and a plate of crispy french fries.