For the past five days, I have been in the pool for 1 to 2 hours every day. The pool temperatures began at 63℉ at have since reached 68℉. It is always a jump start when I get in and I cannot wade fast enough over where my shoulders submerge!

The thing is, when I head to the pool, I am exhausted. It is the afternoon anyway, so there is the natural biorhythm of a slump, but I also yanked something or another around the yard and did a bit of homeschooling. And these days are coffee-free so I do not have that artificial caffeine energy bump to fall back on; I am just physically and mentally down a few notches; coach has got to sit me. But once I get into those 60s waters, the initial shock of cold opens me up. In the next few minutes I am rejuvenated and then I can relax while I am motivated to workout 'cause if nothing is moving that chill sets throughout. I feel fresh!

Indeed, it is curious to be in the pool here in Bartlett, specifically near a road that reminds me of my senior year of high school into those early years of college. For a moment, I almost expect those same friends can be dialed up like they always were; I could swing by the Piggly Wiggly down the road to see my friends and grab a pack of Winterfresh gum as an excuse to go through someone's checkout lane. Those are powerful memories. 28 years ago is not so long ago.

And the transition to go from living around Normal Station Neighborhood to where I am today is remarkable. We were living in a cramped 1000 sq ft place with no yard, the homeless digging through our trash, gunshots and an 8-minute walk away from Getwell (OK, that's just a guess: I always tried to block that fact out of my head). My morning walk for Panera was the same route that made national news.

In comparison, where we are now is like a life of luxury. A bedroom for the three kiddos, a place to organize my tools, a park that I like, no random rental eviction/students leaving trash, no liquor bottles smashed—even the sidewalks are level! I went to bed each night at the last place fearing someone is going to smash the glass in our side entrance to getting some deep sleep at this place.

Sometimes in my life, I ask myself the question I did in the pool the other day as the sunshine showered on me: how did I wind up here?