With alacrity
It’s amazing how the mind works in recalling memories. Sometimes it just takes the smallest thing to act as a trigger. Then the floodgates are open.
Most people who know me know that I was into competitive swimming way back in the way. Swam for my school, a club and even made it on the national team at one point. Of course, swimming led me into water polo as well and I ended up spending 6 days out of 7 in the water when I wasn’t at school (no wonder I still see Sunday as my day to lie around and do nothing).
This morning I was scanning through my RSS feeds while taking a mini-break from my Miami trip preparations and up popped a word from Dictionary.com that I have not seen or heard in years. The word of the day: ALACRITY (cheerful or eager readiness or willingness, often manifested by brisk, lively action or promptness in response). Now anybody who swam around the time I did might smile at the memory because there was this one gentleman, I think he was a parent, who always took part in swim meets as announcer. For some reason, that was his word. We were always being urged to move with alacrity, especially at those larger meets that had a marshalling area where you were expected to report first before heading to the blocks.
Seeing the word today made me miss that time in my life, my one venture into the land of competitive sports. Everything came rushing back. I miss the trainings (morning and evening), the smell of fresh chlorine, the silence under the water broken by the cheers when you turn your head for a breath, the feeling when you execute a perfect turn, the feeling of neatly slicing the water as you enter, the anxious stillness waiting for your relay partner to touch the wall, that moment when you reach the end and look up to see your time on the clock…
Maybe it’s time to go back and swim Masters events. 
Right now I am feeling kindabusy...
Sounds like you might need to revisit the sport…
