We often miss the details
A paw on a leaf upon some misshapen pebbles and crushed shell, color upon color
The flutter and flash of cedar leaves dried and orange-red falling fast upon the ground like rain—summer’s October carpet rolled out just as the wet winds blow in, turning the sea wild as we ourselves turn inward towards home, a hearth, warm toast
Neighbors retreat from the boats and the bay, while summer tourists dissolve and float away like seaweed, bright-colored floats upon the outgoing tide
Beaches abandoned, the sea heaves a sigh of relief—fall and winter will give her a few months respite from the cacophony of sounds, and the happy mayhem stirred up and poured out by humans upon her shores and in her quiet bays
She the sea reigns supreme, growing steadily colder she will dare us to enter as her winter storms and roaring winds and crashing waves will sculpt the beaches anew, swallow and spit out all that doesn’t belong or needs rearranging
A few days ago she spit me out
I lasted five minutes, after entering against my own best judgment
A small cold loop in the shallows, tight lungs, I was breathing to feel, breathing not to feel, while cloud capped mountains in the distance sat idle and patient waiting and waiting for snow and rain
Cold. Cold sea water pierced through soft flesh and something rare and raw was released
Stumbling to shore I knew my selkie days had returned
Perhaps I have been softened too much by the heat of summer, or perhaps it was just one singular off day
Either way, I trust the sea will make room for me again this winter, skin to sea or neoprene to sea
No matter
Swimming is the point
The afterglow and after drop of winter swimming are par for the course
Like the rain and the wind and the tides
The mighty cold of the sea will once again rattle my cages and set me free
And I will try to pay attention to the details
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Mary
Mary Swims 
I, too, swam all this past year in the Salish Sea. I live on Whidbey and used to swim in the pool at my gym, but no longer. I’ve learned so much about myself and about the wild water in this past year! As the water chills and I pull on my wetsuit for the first time in many months, I’m excited. Last winter was such a different experience because I got wet most days. I wasn’t focused on the gloom and the shortening light but rather on the bright energy the sea offers. Bring on the cold!!
Thank you for sharing your journey with me, Deborah! I hope your swims are bringing you all that you need. I plan to get in today! Hooray! And thank goodness for wetsuits!