The Letter A...in the A~Z challenge 2012

Before I write about my letter A topic, here is a brief description of what the A-Z challenge is all about. For those of you following the challenge just skip down to "LETTER A".

This is a challenge to all bloggers for the month of April.  Can you post every day except Sundays during this month  and can you blog thematically from A to Z? 
 Most of the time if you subtract Sundays from April, you then have 26 days--one day for each letter of the alphabet.  When April 1st lands on a Sunday you begin on that day which will be the only Sunday you would post during that month's challenge. ( description from A-Z home page)


OK, so here we go " THE LETTER A" IS FOR AQUATICS
  In keeping with the basic theme of my blog ( living life with metastatic cancer and running to recovery) I have decided to write about Aquatics and how the world of water has played such a huge role in my life.
There is something "freeing" about being in the water. As a child I would spend hours swimming and never tire of it. As a teenager, I became certified as a Water Safety Instructor and have been teaching and sharing this passion with others for over 30 years. As a family, we  raised our sons  to enjoy spending many hours in the water. This passion continues on in our family.


Over these last five years I have been pushing my body very hard. Running half and full marathons, teaching and training. All while going through treatments of radiation, chemotherapy, and surgeries. 

Lately I have been longing to get back in the water,...so I did! I have once again found the peace of being in the water combined with the challenge of becoming a strong swimmer again. My body can push through workouts and build strength in areas I could not strengthen before.
After all these years of teaching nearly everything you can learn in the water  I am now teaching myself how to swim to recovery.