I was debating not going on next month’s boyscout outing. I enjoy the outings very much! But they can be expensive and money is heavy on my mind right now. I came to my senses and decided not to deny the boys. As a matter of fact, I’ve offered to include Sarah in the weekend’s activities. So next month, Tommy, Noah, Sarah and I will go to Camp Pellissippi for a canoe derby. We will have canoe racing and see how many people we can fit into a single boat and so forth. It should be much fun.
Scouting is very safety conscious. To do activities like this in scouting requires a medical form stating one is in good health. Water activities require a swim test within the past 6 months. My test was this morning. Just before I got in the water I slammed down my last swig of coffee. I had to do 6 laps with power strokes and then 2 laps with a resting backstroke. I was doing fine and had the lungs and strength to do a lap without even raising my head although my 2nd and 3rd lap included taking breaths just to not wear myself out. At the end of my 3rd lap, it hit me! A feeling like indigestion! I couldn’t get a full lung of air! What I wanted to do more than anything in the world was a world class belch! Have you ever had one of those? Maybe you just chugged a carbonated beverage and then you feel the need to burp but its stuck in your chest just below your sternum? If you can only work it out, the reverberating bass tones emanating from your mouth surely would shake walls and register on the Richter scale. Those last 3 laps were horrible. I wanted to be polite and not burp but I wanted to be able to get some air and not look like I was struggling to do a simple swim. What a terribly uncomfortable feeling!
I passed. I blame the coffee for the tough moment!
