Author Archives: Mary McCormic-McInnis

I made it. First open water swim in the month of December—now I can retire. On second thought, I think I’ll keep swimming. I am certain the coldest days are yet to come, don’t want to miss those! Whatever would I write about? Mother Nature certainly did her part coaxing me in today. The airContinue reading “December 4, 2020”

Why I swim. This one was my first passenger long ago when I fell deeply in love with swimming—in a pool. And the pool was where I fell deeply in love with A., my first child. He was tiny, invisible to my eyes, keeping me company lap after lap, floating within floating, just the twoContinue reading “December 3, 2020”

I’ve been learning a few things of late on my first fall in the open water. Much of what I have absorbed has been through trial and error, or gleaned from various sources online. My favorite online source of late is a Facebook group called “Slow Swimmers”. The origins of this group seem to beContinue reading “November 28, 2020”

Handful of beach—of sand and blue glass and eel grass and clam shell, of headlamp, of two moon snail shells the size of softballs, of cold fingers missing the pull through saltwater Head full of thoughts—of wishes gazing out from an empty shore, of hopes for a kinder world, a more balanced world, a planetContinue reading “November 27, 2020”

The light got through today. And I swam and swam, and had gentle crossings with people on both sides of my swim. It started with a little bag of salty almonds, homemade with care and lovingly delivered by my aunt this morning. A brief visit, a quiet chat about dad, her brother, and my mom.Continue reading “November 25, 2020”

Still water lay beneath a heavy sky crowded with grey clouds, the air damp and mean like the sharp grab of snow down your neck on a winter’s day. I was not feeling kind or generous or hopeful, just dull and bleak like the view before me this afternoon as I arrived at the beach.Continue reading “November 23, 2020”

Two days, two beaches, one naked swim. It all started because of my finger injury with the hatchet. I couldn’t swim, but the water called. With a beach walk I could continue my quest for more moon snail shells and fragments, and delight in watching my mutt scamper with unbridled joy at the beach. OverwhelmingContinue reading “November 21, 2020”

Persevere and Pivot. These may be my new favorite words, and most rightly capture the day I had yesterday and where I find myself today. Yesterday I persevered and won a battle with a rusty bike lock, and succeeded with no help but for the company of my loyal mutt and a can of liquidContinue reading “November 20, 2020”

Splash! Maybe I needed to jump start my system, feel the holy cold jolt of November’s icy saltwater on my skin, or maybe prove my youthfulness to my son, but either way today’s “swim” was definitely more of a plunge. When the endless rain took a pause this afternoon, I grabbed hold of a halfContinue reading “November 17, 2020”

I found selkies at the shore today. And sunlight. Venturing up the road a few miles from home, I arrived to Dock Street, one of the island’s public road ends—a forty-foot wide corridor providing public access to the saltwater I love. The small bay lies sheltered from southerly winds, and I was delighted to findContinue reading “November 15, 2020”