Monday, October 3, 2011

Floating

"The sun was low in the west, and the breeze soft and languorous that came up from the south, charged with the seductive odor of the sea." 
– Kate Chopin, The Awakening

I won't forget: wading into the Atlantic in the evening and the evening of summer until it was deep enough to float instead of walking. Wearing it on my skin. Being in open water under the open sky gives me such a sense of freedom and peace. Have you read The Awakening? The night-swimming scene early on left the most lingering impression on me — "She turned her face seaward to gather in an impression of space and solitude..." — I am reminded of it any time I go swimming in the sea, properly swimming past where my feet can touch and past where the waves break, I mean.

The traditional association between women and the sea makes me feel genuinely and personally lucky. I rather think it's one of the best things the female sex has to its name.


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4 comments:

  1. Mmmm. Second time today someone has made me really want to go swimming in open water...

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  2. Jenica - Are there bodies of water over there still warm enough at this time of year?

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  3. Haha, I seriously doubt it. Actually I've never even been to the ocean (sad, right) and the great lakes where we go on our annual vacation are quite cold enough in July, haha.

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  4. Jenica - Oh, I can't imagine what it will be like when you finally do. There really is a tangible qualitative difference between the ocean and the Great Lakes.

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