Spa Talk 3.

Thursday morning, 11:05 am. I just finished my pool workout at the YMCA. After having picked up a pass half an hour before the 10:15 am aquafit, I filled the half an hour wait by lane swimming in the outdoor pool, which was at a pleasant 80°F. The aquafit class in the 90̴°F indoor pool was taught by C., a female instructor in her late thirties. As usual, I chose a spot in the pool that benefited from the sun's rays reaching an area illuminated through movable panels in the roof that had been opened.

When the class had finished fifty minutes later, I went to the outdoor spas in a fenced-off area. They are kept at a balmy 100°F. I chose the one with only two people in it; there were four people in the other adjacent spa. Both people were seniors. She looked like she was about seventy, with a slim figure and grey hair in a bun. He looked like a skinny sixty-year-old with grey hair and a goatee, and a colorful tattoo from the shoulder down on the right side of his body. I put myself against one of the water jets in the spa wall.

"Did you take the class?" she asked. "Yes," I said. "I had a good workout," she added. "C. is an excellent instructor,” I said. Keeps you hopping. She is very disciplined and always has a work plan for the class, and you feel afterwards that you've burnt a few calories."

"It's good for me,” she said. “I have arthritis, and this aquafit class helps. It's the one workout I can do without hurting. My arthritis is all over. It started at the base of the thumb of my right hand. Now, it affects my entire body. Arthritis is an illness affecting several members of my family. But with the class, I maintain my sanity. Old age is a bummer."

"It starts when you're forty," inserted the grey-haired and bearded man beside her. "With some people, the breakdown may start as early as thirty-five. I'm lucky, it didn't hit me until I turned fifty. But, I'm careful with what I do, and what I eat."

"You don't drink?" she asked. "No, my family is alcoholics, and I've stayed away from alcohol all my life. I'm a surfer and I like to keep doing it till a ripe old age. Alcohol doesn't help."
At that moment, a couple entered the spa. She was slim with a ponytail. He was a bit older than she, with a beard and a weathered face. Soon, they were in a deep embrace. I felt it was time to leave.

I quickly looked at the outdoor pool. All lanes were double-occupied. Not a good time to enter the pool again for another swim. I may get back to the YMCA later this afternoon for another workout. I dried off and went to my car in the parking lot. Even without another workout, I'm all set for the day—time for lunch.

MvR – August 7, 2025. ✍️