UnFancy: Swimming at the JCC
If you have been reading my newsletter for a while, you know that I have started swimming. I recently tapped into my love of swimming from my childhood and decided it was the right way to round out my movement routine. Swimming is gentle on the body and, for me, calming on the soul.
Growing up, I spent the entire summer in swimming pools. We belonged to a local JCC in Trenton, NJ where I think, between my mom’s side of the family and my dad’s, I was related to almost every person there. The grandmothers played cards, kids ran around unsupervised, the changing rooms were wet, the bathrooms were unpleasant and the snack bar was full of bees. But for me it was utopia. There were kids everywhere, we played all sorts of water games. I knew everyone. And I could be in the water all day. My mom was busy with her own social life there, so I could usually convince her to stay well beyond the original amount of time she had planned.
Fast forward 40 plus years, and I just joined my local JCC. I am swimming indoors in the winter instead of outdoors in the summer, but the love of being in the water is the same. And the un-fancy surroundings are reminiscent of my childhood.
When I was choosing where to join to swim, I looked into some of the fancier places near me, but I decided it would be nice to go somewhere that had a Jewish vibe. When you walk in to the JCC there is a table with prayers for the hostages, you walk by the nursery school classrooms and see the over-70 crowd on the fitness equipment. I love being in this environment even if it means that I don’t have as many bells and whistles as some other places.
After one of my recent swims, I went to the locker room to change. Of course the only other person in the entire locker room was using the locker right next to mine so we ended up practically on top of each other. The anti-social side of me was a bit annoyed but I pulled myself together. We said hello to each other and chatted a bit. She told me how the last time she was here her locker combination didn’t work so she had to go to the phone at the entrance of the locker room to call for help. After a half-hour someone finally came down to attempt to open it. When they couldn’t open it, they sent someone else down who used a screwdriver to open the locker. My new friend had asked the helper why she didn’t just use the special key since it looked like there was a key on the locker and the helper responded, “Well I’m just an accountant here so I have no idea”. My new friend and I laughed and laughed. The ridiculousness of the situation was hilarious and a little bit endearing. In places like this, everyone pitches in, even the accountant comes to help open a locker with a screw driver.
If I had been at one of the fancier clubs, I would have missed this opportunity to connect with a stranger over the ridiculousness of our situation. A community center may not be as polished, but it does what it does best—builds community. My life at a JCC now is a little different than it was when I was a kid, but it is built on a common purpose. To interact with others, to connect, to share a moment and to witness the absurdities of life. Swimming is good for my health, but connecting and laughing with a stranger is equally health-promoting.
