He Takes a Long Time to Get Ready to Be Late

Thursday evening came, and I had not felt kidney stone pain since Wednesday night. I was getting confident that I could arise early and do a swim. So I called John with the good news, and we agreed to sleep late and meet at 4:30 a.m. since it was to be my first swim in several days. He told me that he had a 10:30 doctor's appointment, but he also said he'd be at the pool.

He wasn't.

Swimming without John was no big deal. Swimming without a Garmin, however, was like being pushed back into the Stone Age. I did

brick kick
500
450
400
brick kick
350 small paddles
25 back kick
25 back kick
300 medium paddles
250
200 medium paddles
150
total: 2,600 yards = 2,376 meters

Notice I have no times. I was afraid to go past 500, not because of my physical fitness but because of my mental fitness. I am mentally challenged at counting laps. Really, I have to constantly repeat in my mind what 50 I am on. "This is number three, this is number three, this is number three, . . . ." If I don't do that every single second of a lap, I lose track.

It was good to be back in the water. When the other crew got there, Michael asked where my buddy was. "He said he was going to be here," I answered. "But he also told me he has a doctor's appointment at 10:30. It takes him a long time to get ready to be late."

He smiled.

Thank you, Jesus, that I got to get in the water one more time.