Not all of my early years in the water happened in swimming pools.
When you think of Texas, water probably isn't something that you immediately associate with the state. Water is a daily part of life in Texas, especially whether or not it will rain. We talk a lot about rain...and dust. Still, we were lucky enough to have a few local watering holes.
The photo above was taken at Lake Nasworthy*, locally known as Lake Nasty Water. I don't really know why we called it that. Perhaps because of its mucky bottom? We only ever went to the lake for events. It wasn't the kind of place--we weren't the kind of people--to go hang out at the lake just because. In fact, my memories of it are spotty at best and largely associated with driving past it on my way to the airport or hanging out at my friend Audrey's house on the water. Audrey had a ferret, saved spiders and would find snakes in the grass near the boat launch. She was the closest thing to an outdoorsy friend that I had. To the younger me, she was both crazy and exotic.
There was one 4th of July where we joined the throngs of people headed to the lake, the car packed tightly with lawn chairs and blankets, to enjoy the fireworks. Even that was more about the cacophony of sounds and tepid display of lights than the water. The only time I remember actually going in the water was during a group picnic-brouhaha-thing at the university lake house. Lacking the carefree nature of my friends and acquaintances, I was the girl in cheap, slip-on water shoes edging her way into the water and squirming as her feet sank further in the mud.
*I'm going to spare you the lecture on how I now know it's a reservoir. False advertising!
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