Hello! Summer is in full
swing here at Pathfinder Village, and our first campers at Camp Pathfinder are
enjoying a full week of experiences at area attractions and here at the
Village. This Saturday night at 7 p.m., we’ll also be kicking off our 20th
annual free Summer Concert Series at the Pavilion with one of our favorite
bands, the Blues Maneuver. Come on down to enjoy some great summer
fun!
With its harvest plenty offered at
local veggie stands, summer means we’ll be changing our produce market
operations as well. Our
Morris Market is on vacation for the summer. Our Edmeston market
will be open during its usual hours, on Thursdays, from 1 to 5 p.m. We
hope to see you tomorrow!
For this week’s blog, my colleague
Martha Spiegel offers some thoughts on one of her favorite activities,
swimming.
***
To have some planned time together and to get
some exercise, my husband and I joined the Norwich YMCA a few weeks ago and are
hitting the pool! We try to swim three times a week, and are really enjoying
it.
We started out swimming for 30 minutes, and are
increasing that time by 3 minutes every week, with a goal of 45 minutes. My once-textbook
swimming strokes are not what they used to be, so right now I’m doing a
combination of walking in the shallow end and modified strokes in the deep end
until my muscles catch up with my muscle memory. In addition to getting my
heart pumping and my body moving, I also find it relaxing and de-stressing.
Swimming is a great workout, and is easy on the
joints since the water supports you all around and you feel buoyant. My dad,
now in his 80s, swims every day for an hour and consequently has little arthritis
pain. The strength in his legs helped him bounce back very quickly from
knee replacement surgery this past year. Even if you don’t feel comfortable in
deep water, walking or running in waist-deep water is a great low-impact
activity.
I have always felt at home in the water. Dad
taught me to swim when I was very little, and I took swim lessons for several
years. My children took lessons as well, and later both became life guards and
joined the high school swim team. Now my grandkids are taking lessons through
the Norwich Youth Bureau’s summer program. The oldest two didn’t love it their
first year, but now with a couple of summers under their belts, they are much
more confident. This year all of my son’s children are in lessons; even the
one-year-old is enthusiastic and all smiles at her parent/child sessions.
Not everyone is as comfortable in the water, and
some are even afraid of it. Even so, it’s important to learn at least some
swimming basics to be safe around water. According to the World Health
Organization, an estimated 360,000 people globally died from drowning in
2015, and drowning is one of the top five causes of death for children through
age 14. It’s never too late to learn to swim, either, and many aquatic
facilities offer adult swim lessons. Many communities have public pools that
residents can use for little or no cost, so see if there is one near you.
Even the best swimmers need to remember safety
rules in and around the water. Never swim alone—use the Buddy System, and swim
where there is a lifeguard whenever possible. Always wear a life jacket while
boating. Never leave children unsupervised around water, even if they are
strong swimmers. Wear water-resistant sunscreen and reapply often if you swim
outside. There is a great list of safety tips here
from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Until next time, cool
off, have fun, and get fit!
Martha (and Lori)
