August has always meant family gatherings, beach days, ripe peaches and fresh corn and a string of long hot afternoons that drag straight into a starry night. For as long as I can remember August has ruled the summer. Bathing suits and towels slung over deck railings, everyone talking around a table filled with farm fresh everything, sandy feet padding about on sandy paths, berries popping from vine to mouth and all the time in the world to do nothing. Hands down August wins every time.
Looking for a reason to set your alarm for a pre-work workout, lace up those dusty sneakers, and hit your favorite running route? Look no further, because an extraordinary young woman, Olympic athlete, mother, wife, small business owner and former student of mine, @emdreiss, has organized a November Challenge guaranteed to get you exercising with purpose, just when getting out of bed might be a hard fought trial after the Take US Backwards Bro election. She’s created, out of her own stage 4 cancer diagnosis, a plan to keep us all moving forward, and by doing so, uniting hundreds of people who refuse to let the impossible stay impossible.
I was born into a family of swimmers, destined to dive into whatever body of water appeared in front of us, with little thought about temperature or current or logic, and I must say this one familial trait is one that I am most grateful for on the day to day through all my years. Both my parents were keen swimmers from start to finish and made sure that their whole brood learned the skill, as they did for my children too. Despite all their best preparations, I did almost drown one summer afternoon when I was probably five or six and we were all enjoying Jones Beach on Long Island. I followed an older brother out beyond my own ability, and eventually lost my strength. He buoyed me as best he could until the strong arm of the lifeguard pressed tight across my chest and ferried me to shore where my panicked parents stood waiting. When I recall that singular event I feel no fear only the salt water coursing around me, waves clipping my face, the broad blue below and above equally enticing, feeling safe somehow. I remember the whole experience with love too, water logged love.
Nine Cent Girl 