What a man what a man what a mighty good man

Something I realized today is that I want a man who can swim.

Random? Yes. Odd? I say no.

I realized this while I was at the gym tonight. The majority of the cardio machines overlook the pool (one reason why I no longer go in the pool - I realized how much I stare at the people down below, and it gave me a weird creepy feeling that others are doing the same amount of staring while I'm in there...), so I have seen many different levels of swimmers. First of all, let me say that I never see the people who are in the pool OUT of the pool getting any other type of exercise. This bothers me for some reason.

The waders/walkers are usually the people with a friend who prefer to socialize while they wade through the pool. These people are standing still more often than not, which makes me wonder how much they actually get accomplished.

There are the noodlers/water aerobic people. These people do manage to usually work up a sweat as they push their way through the water, aerobicizing as much as possible, or by using their noodle (long, skinny floatation device) to help them stay afloat. This type has obviously experienced a water aerobics class or two, and tends to be very respectful by staying on their assigned side of the pool.

There are the dog paddlers. This type tries their very best attempt at what they might consider "swimming", but to anyone else, it looks like they're merely trying their best to avoid drowning. They tend to try various strokes of swimming, but end up staying too long underwater on, say, the breastroke, that I am usually about 2 seconds away from jumping off my machine to run down and save them when they come up for air. Because they think they can swim, they might venture over into the lap pool side, getting in the way of others.

There are the don't-I-look-good swimmers. These people appear to the un-informed person to be a great swimmer. But they themselves are un-informed and things just aren't quite right. It's usually their timing of the butterfly stroke that is the tell-tale sign, when they pump their arms and their feet at the same time, making it an awkward breath to catch. They usually tire quickly, but manage to get in a pretty good workout while doing a very strange impression of the breast stroke.

Then there are the SWIMMERS. These are few and far between, so it's a treat when they come around. These guys and gals can swim what seems like forever without stopping. Great form, and consistent strokes. They make me proud.

Now, you may ask what makes me such an expert. Swimming is something I love to do and something I've been doing since before I could walk. I grew up on the swim team, and 7 months of my family's life every year was spent at the pool - whether it be for practice or meets. My brother and sister both were excellent swimmers, and I always wanted to be as good as they were. Some of my best and most vivid memories of my childhood are of competing at meets. I loved to go to practice, even in the summer when it was early in the morning. Although my brother and sister would be the first to point out that times for practice went from oldest to youngest, making theirs much earlier than mine. I'd be leaving on my bike heading out to the club just as they'd be getting home. I was forced to give up swimming when we moved to a very small town in the mountains that had only ONE POOL and no competitive team.

All this to say that tonight someone in the pool tonight caught my eye when he started on the butterfly with perfect form. His next lap was the backstroke - also perfect. Next lap was breastroke... could it be this guy was doing the IM - my FAVORITE event? I knew it was true when he finished with freestyle, and I fell in love for a quick second. I had never realized how important this trait might be for my future husband, but tonight I realized it could definitely be a deal breaker.

Gotta love a guy who can wear a speedo and knows how to use it.