Wish I Could Tell You

I wish you were still here so I could tell you about SwimBowen and all the beautiful things unfurling from this little idea from all those years ago. I wish you could have seen the joy on the beach that morning and how it magically erased – if only for a moment – any heart aches or worries weighing on us. And how it brought out the best in all of us, the strongest swimmers flying through the water like dolphin acrobats, and the slower among us determinedly pulling through the rough water keeping in our hearts loved ones lost or those with us going through the real hard work of cancer treatment. I wish you could have felt the waves with me as I climbed up and over the rolling sea with hundreds of white jelly fish floating silently beneath me like aquatic stars. And how I steadied my mind through the rhythmic pattern of reach, turn, inhale, reach, roll, exhale. And how I tried to run at the finish line. And how I fell spectacularly, my legs collapsing under me as if I had no legs at all.

Mostly I wish I could tell you how SwimBowen lights people up for all the best reasons, touching on all the ways we can be strong. Strong in our bodies, strong in ourselves and strong for others. It’s a big beautiful wave Dad picking us up and floating us forward.

I wish you were here.