After Books Comes Music - Held Equally High in My Heart

Yesterday I mentioned my life-long affection for books in all their various forms and formats. Today it occurs to me that the other major love of my life is music. I did have a few people mention that they didn't listen to audio books (for a variety of reasons), but listened to music. I adore music. For years I played the cello in orchestras throughout the Denver Metro area. I still listen to music every day, but I don't listen to music while I exercise. Why not? 

I love music. I have Sirius in my car and Spotify on my phone 
and computers and iPods filled with tunes on my desk. I have 
a cabinet with old vinyl, tons of CD's and lots of cassette 
tapes. I have music every day of my life. After books, music 
is as essential to my life as breathing. 

Several years ago, I discovered that I loved listening to something while swimming. I homed in on music because if I didn't get a great signal, or if I missed listening to one thing or another, the music just kept going. And I used music successfully for several years (swimming laps isn't the most enthralling action of the known universe - it's repetitive and a bit mind-numbing). I stopped listening to music and switched over to listening to books when I analyzed my body's reaction to the tunes. 

Does anyone remember the original Apple iPod 
commercials? I actually think I still have my original 
iPod in a drawer somewhere. It was a remarkable 
invention and took the world by storm. Now we 
can get so much more through our phones, but 
then, it was groundbreaking (and the only 
Apple product line I've EVER owned - iPods 
spoke to me, but Apple never did). 

Every musical rendition has a rhythm - an underlying beat, whether it's an actual drum, or just the intertwining of the notes of assorted instruments. This beat varies from song to song. I had been careful to choose my playlist so that the beats of the music would be within a standard range to keep my heart rate up and my strokes somewhat consistent, but I found my pace changing from song to song throughout the playlist and it started to bother me. I decided to try an audio book instead and that resolved the issue. I was then paying attention to plot and characters, not the beat, and I could keep a more consistent rhythm through the water. 

I adore swimming. My mother taught me to swim at 
the Denver YMCA when I was about as old as this 
baby is. I've been a water rat ever since. When I rejoined 
the YMCA many years ago, one of the first things 
I did was get into the water. It took some work, but 
eventually I was able to start swimming laps, and finally 
worked up to swimming a mile a day. A good workout. 

Admittedly, I haven't been in a pool for more than a year now. (Well, to be honest, I swam for a single day after the YMCA re-opened, but just one time.) So it's been quite a while for me, and I'm still staying away from it for a while longer. I need that "herd immunity" before I return to the gym. I miss the pool, but I'm OK with my daily treadmill, and in some ways that's better for my basic schedule. I've adapted, as we've all had to adapt, to the pandemic restrictions, and the gentle easing that's happening as vaccinations increase. I'll probably return to the pool again, but I doubt I'll be there every day. I'll try for three days a week. I think that might work out best. 

I adore my Underwater Audio waterproof iPods. They 
have switched over to MP3 players now, but I owned 
several of these over the years and they're dependable 
and excellent. Even though I'll have to upgrade
one of these days, I'm happy with my iPods. 

In any case, I have my two Underwater iPods - one loaded with my current audio book, one loaded with tunes. Whichever way I decide to go, I'm ready. On that note, it's time to get out of here and get on with my day. I hope you have a fabulous day and I'll be back tomorrow.