bathers on christmas morning

on a very clear, sunny but cold christmas morning, well, more like 11ish, max and i set out for our daily walk to the river. i guess the outside temperature was around the mid-40's at that time - so picture this, i'm on the bank of the river with my hoodie under my longcoat, gloves and hat, and there, in the river, are close to a dozen swimmers! now, at 70degrees year round, the san marcos river sees kayakers, snorkelers and swimmers all 12 months BUT usually we only see the swimmers in december during a "heatwave" say it gets up to 70 or 80...this is central texas, it could happen and has. anyway, most of the crowd quickly make their way up the grass and disappear into the parking lot. left in the water are two men and a teenage boy. the boy is jumping off the rope swing i'm sure at the urging of the other two. a women in sunglasses and a gray hoodie stands and waits patiently on the rocks. out comes an camera and pictures are taken of the bathers as well as the water falls. i suddenly feel very self-consciencous of my long winter coat, hat and gloves........i secretly wish i could dive into the beautiful clear water but decided walking home in wet clothes would not be worth the quick thrill of the water. alas, i know now that "i am a magnet and you (the water) are steel". did i mention that my children cannot come within 20 feet of a body of water without getting wet???? i now know they inherited the water-gene from me!