I stood in the changing room, shivering, feeling self-conscious in my swimsuit. It had been hard for me to leave my warm, comfortable home on a snowy night, then take off my winter coat, just to change out of my slacks and top to squeeze into a tight swimsuit.  The air at the YMCA was comfortably warm, but the memory of having walked across an icy parking lot to enter the building only moments before made me shudder. Acknowledging that having come this far, I needed to take the next step. I opened the door and entered the pool area.

Less than a dozen people were swimming in the large pool. I remembered taking a swimming class in that pool many years ago. The water had been so cold, it caused my lips to turn blue. I backed away and turned towards the nearby small hot tub. Thinking it would feel nice to soak in that pool for several minutes, I took one step down into the water.

My feet were cold from recently been outdoors, so the water in the hot tub pool felt dangerously hot to my skin. I quickly stepped out of the water thinking ruefully, “Now I know how a lobster feels when it is dropped into boiling water!”

Through a glass door, I saw another pool. It wasn’t as big as the first pool, nor as small as the hot tub pool. No one was in that pool, and the door was locked. Once, many years ago, I’d taken an elderly woman to an exercise class in it for arthritic people. What I remembered was that the water in that pool was comfortably warm.

A lifeguard unlocked the door so I could use the medium-sized pool. The water temperature was perfect, just as I remembered. Submerging up to my neck, I circled my arms, marched back and forth in the pool. Hanging on the pool edge, I paddled my legs. For the first time that evening, I was glad that I’d left my home to come to the YMCA.

I’ve been aware for a few years that some Medicare supplemental insurance policies include a basic YMCA membership for the insured. But I resisted taking advantage of this perk. I don’t like leaving my home in the evenings, especially when it is cold. Leaving my home during daylight hours isn’t much more appealing.

Recently, I’ve realized that because of painful arthritic joints, I’m not moving around enough. To remedy that, one day I spontaneously went to the YMCA to sign up for my membership. While there, I confessed, “The most difficult exercise for me will be getting myself to leave my house to come here.”

The woman I was talking to laughed as she admitted, “That’s all of us!”

In the past, my favorite exercise was walking, but now I find doing that too painful. I want low-impact exercise and moving around in water fits the bill. Water not only reduces the stress on joints and muscles, it provides gentle resistance as a person moves about in it.

Arthritis makes me move more gingerly, and I’ve noticed that my balance has been affected. Water exercise builds muscle strength which can enhance balance. I felt a triumphant euphoria once I submerged myself in the swimming pool. Having successfully left my house to go swimming on a snowy night was an amazing feat.

Paddling about in water made me feel relaxed. Thinking about how one pool was too cold, the second was too hot, and the third one was, ‘juuust riiight’ made me grin like a goofy fool. It turns out I was acting like Goldilocks! A new adventure for Goldilocks should be written: ‘Goldilocks Goes Swimming.’

My cheerful mood evaporated instantly once I exited the warm water. No longer buoyant, my body felt like it weighed three times more than normal! Although I’d successfully gotten myself to the YMCA that night, I realistically understood that this feat would not get any easier, even though I’d found a pool that felt just right. Each time I forced myself to leave home would be a major victory.