Not my future

What is it about water aerobics that either attracts cranky old ladies or brings out the crabbiness in perfectly nice older women?

The pool where I swim has 6 lanes. I usually go on Tuesday or Thursday when all 6 lanes are reserved for lap swimming. This week, however, my dentist appointment threw everything off and I had to go to the pool this morning. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the water aerobics class happens at the same time I swim.

Which is cool; I can share. The problem is that those old ladies can't. There are 15, 20 ladies max in this class and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they insist on taking up FOUR of the six lanes in the pool. Even though they all clump at one end and don't even take up a quarter of the space.

Normally it's not such a big deal, because there are usually only one or two of us swimming laps at that time. But I have had mornings where there are five people there to swim and we end up having to go 2 and 3 to a lane because the old ladies, even when we ask politely, won't give up one of their four lanes.

This morning, though, there were 6 people there to swim, so the lifeguard put the smack down and made the aerobicizers give up one of their lanes. Which I thought worked out quite nicely. The swimmers all doubled up and the ladies still had plenty of room.

But of course, when I came back from my swim and was changing in the locker room, the big topic of conversation among the aerobicizers was how presumptuous it was for us to expect another lane.

"You would think," one old lady sniffed, "that people would be able to look at the schedule and see when there's a class and the pool will be closed."

I wanted to tell her that you would think 15 little old ladies wouldn't need 75% of a pool to bob up and down in, but I was quiet.

All I have to say is that I never want to become a water-aerobicizing old lady. I'd say Fe-Lady has the right idea. When she's 80, she'll still be swimming laps around the water aerobics class!

Swim: Drills and Drills and Drills

300 warmup, 200 catch up, 200 brush-thumb-with-thigh, 200 fist, 200 count strokes per length (high 24, low 21)