be kind. Practise patience even when it’s hard. Don’t sweat the small stuff because you never know where you might be tomorrow. 7/7

I know people say it all the time, but it’s true: you really truly never know what someone else is going through. I think that moment will stay with me for a long time.

Anyway,
6/

kept swimming.

But that moment really hit me & I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it???

What felt like a minor inconvenience to me about her slow swimming… was her victory. Just the fact she was there & giving it her all… was her incredible comeback. 5/

Cancer treatment. And I think I’m doing pretty well."

Internally I was like !!!!! But I said with a big smile “wow that’s amazing congratulations for finishing chemo and I hope the rest of your swim goes well!”
She thanked me, grinning, and… 4/

no worries, but look a bit put out (I’m discovering there are lots of snooty lane swimmers around)

She seemed a bit shy like she was worried she’d be annoying for being slower. Instead, she turned to me, smiled, and said:
"I know you don’t know me, but this is my first swim after finishing…
3/

At the end of the lane I’d stopped to leave a gap between me and the person ahead but in that time this lady had caught up with me. I apologised & said I was just about to go, sorry for holding up the line etc. & I expected her to say… 2/

This morning, I went for my usual swim and was sharing a lane with a few other people like normal. There was one lady in particular who was a bit slower than the rest of us and honestly, I was trying not to get annoyed because we were totally out of sync & I kept catching up to her… 🧵 1/