So I’ve gotten really into night swimming lately. It’s been hot enough that our pool’s water is nice at night. However, the lining of our pool is very dark blue. So when it’s dark out, the pool is pitch-black. So I’m pretty much swimming in total darkness except for the street light across the street. By myself. It’s freaking exhilarating.
Now, tell me if I’m wrong, but I think everybody in their right mind thinks of Jaws when in water you can’t see through. I know I can’t help thinking about Jaws. It’s like when you turn off the lights, for a second you think of all the scary monsters in the movies that can get you in the dark. Then you realize your a fricking adult and get over it. But the water monsters are real! Yes, the odds are slim that a shark is going to end up in my pool during one of my night swims (unless that damn Sharknado shows up again) but just the teeny, tiny possibility makes the whole night swimming experience more scary and exciting.
The cherry on top: I like to do a variety of exercises in the pool. When I don’t feel like swimming, I will just run in circles. Now, when I run in circles in this oval pool, the water likes to make creepy slapping noises on one curve of the pool, like something is in the water behind me. And I look behind me to make sure there aren’t sharks coming to get me, every time. Then I realize I can’t see a damn thing, so I just wait for the excruciating pain of a shark bite…it never comes.
I’m an adult, I know a shark is not going to bite me in my pool, but my mind is stupid. My mind remembers Jaws. My mind remembers Deep Blue Sea. My mind remembers The Shallows. My mind remembers freaking SHARKNADO. And with a Sharknado, anything can happen.
….That is all. Comments? Questions?
PS: Do you like to swim at night? If so, does your mind wonder in the directions mine does?
Caro @ The Book Rogue
Dear Jen, you just gave me the first good laugh of the week. Even more hilarious, I know exactly what you mean. I love swimming, and while I don’t have a pool, if I did, I’d definitvely use it for a night swim — and I’d be just as ridiculous as you b/c you can’t effin control you subconscious. I’ve experienced the “Dear subconscious, you’re being unrealistic and ridiculous, for crying out loud!” pep talk a number of times in different situations, even though I only have a very limited number of horror scenarios to choose from (not a fan of horror movies to expand that horizon, thank you). Makes me want to manically laugh at myself every time, and I eventually settle on a chuckle. It’s for the best, really, a little spike of fear every now and then, just to keep you sharp. So just continue to enjoy swimming from sharks. SNAP SNAP 😉
JenM
Ha, that made me laugh. I’m a scuba diver and we often joke that there are only two kinds of people in this world, 1) divers, 2) people who are afraid of sharks!
We often dive at night, because many interesting underwater creatures are nocturnal and you see totally different things than in the daytime. I don’t worry about what creatures are lurking just beyond my dive light, because I know they are usually more scared of me than I am of them. In general, sharks are quite rare anyway, and reef sharks are typically not dangerous to humans. Diving in the ocean at night is an amazing experience, and very peaceful.
sherry fundin
I do have a pool and swim at night. I feel all the things you do and it is quite the rush.
sherry @ fundinmental
Melliane
I never really tried to swin at night or only a few times but I love pool!
Laura Thomas
LOL I do the same thing. Creep myself out in the pool even though common sense tells me there are no sharks. I used to have an inflatable shark in the pool. One day, I fell asleep floating on a raft. I woke up and saw the shadow of a shark and scared myself half to death. LOL It was just the float. Guess what? I no longer have that float.
Christy LoveOfBooks
Love night swimming! We used to go skinny dipping at the lake late at night during high school. I watched some horror movie when I was little about a giant crocodile, and one scene it was in a pool and grabbed people off the diving board, only leaving a toe behind. lol! Our pool at our family home has lights, but it’s pretty big and curved so you can’t fully see the deep end that’s darker. So I always got that zing of adrenaline swimming down there when I was younger because I had that damn croc in my head. My pool doesn’t have any obstructions and has lights, so it isn’t all that menacing. 😀 I love laying out there and watching the bats swoop down to catch bugs that are attracted to the light.
herding cats & burning soup
Oh nope nope nope. In FL you’ll get snakes and alligators in your pool. I need a light to at least check the whole dang pool first. lol
Olivia Roach
I never really swam at night when we had a pool in Spain but that’s mostly because I was busy doing other things like… sleeping. I mostly swam in the day because it was seriously too hot to be doing anything else xD
Lover Of Romance
I actually LOVE swimming at night, its my favorite pasttime. Its so relaxing and you can do a good workout in the water so easily. I don’t really think of sharks when I am in a swimming pool. But yes Deep Blue Sea makes me nervous to go in the water in the ocean. Because man those sharks—-gives me shivers just thinking about that movie.
Melissa
Oh my gosh! LOLOL! Don’t have a pool but that sounds awesome (or awesomely creepy?) lol
Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous)
You’ve got some balls. LoL I couldn’t swim in a pool at night… and it has everything to do with the fact that I watched Jaws when I was very little. I don’t care if sharks aren’t actually in the pool, I can’t see, and therefor there’s a very good possibility that there’s something lurching below me. LoL
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Let's Get Beyond Tolerance
I tend to think of bats or frogs – because those things are totally out at night by my house. But I LOVE swimming at night. It’s so relaxing and nice.