Finding Love at the YMCA: A Poolside Encounter that Changed Everything

A chance poolside encounter at the YMCA leads to a life-changing love story, exploring what it means to truly find commitment

Finding Love at the YMCA: A Poolside Encounter that Changed Everything

It Started At The Pool

Since my divorce (7 years ago) I've been dating, but have managed to not find anyone
that I've been interested in sufficiently to marry or have a permanent commitment with.
Within the past year, that had changed as the relationship I'm in with a wonderful woman
I met at the YMCA matured, but didn't meet Cindy directly at the pool. Rather, thats where I
met her daughter (Jen), and she's the that got us together.

Meeting Cindy

I visit the local YMCA to stay in shape, and my preferred exercise is swimming laps. I've
been doing this for years on and off, but now I've been doing so steadily for quite a while
and its become a habit. The times I visit the Y have varied depending on how busy I was
at work, or if I happened to be in between projects I could go during the daytime when there
was a lot more room (if you go during the busy times, you have to minimally share a lane,
do circles with 3 people, or otherwise have to wait).

After you've been hanging around any gym or pool for a while, you start to recognize
people and get to know them (i.e. "the regulars"). One of the things that I happen to like
about swimming is because I appreciate women who take the time to stay in shape, and
women who swim tend to have nicely toned figures. As an added bonus, they generally
have to wear swimsuits which reveal exactly how in shape they really are - even when
wearing the standard Speedo. Its typical to wear goggles when swimming so you can
see where you're going, and one of the benefits is that you also get to see the women
swimming which to me is an added bonus.

While I'd been going I had noticed a young woman who swam at the same time I did and
was a regular. She was maybe 5'2" and had a slim, tight, a fairly shapely figure, and very
blue eyes. I had just completed swimming a mile was taking the time to cool down before
getting out. She had also apparently just finished her workout and was hanging out in
the lane next to mine. We started to chat, and had a few laughs when I announced that
I was getting out to move over to the hydro-spa for a while before heading out. So I swam
over to the ladder and climbed out, picked up my towel and walked over to the spa and
settled in. I really enjoy the spa because you really got to decompress as all the air bubbles
massaged your body deeply in the hot water, and worked out any aches or pains.

This same woman came wandering over and also got into the spa, smiled at me, said "hello
again". So we started chatting again, and I learned her name was Jen, and I told her mine
was Greg. After chatting for a while I realized she was too young for me (she was in her early
20's, and I was in my later 40's) I came to the conclusion there was no reason to build any
interest in her (for other than sporting purposes!). Anyway, I had an appointment to go to
that afternoon so I excused myself and headed off to the locker room.

I started running into Jen fairly often, and saw her several times a week. And as usual we'd
often end up in the spa after our workouts and just chat. But one day, she started asking
some really personal questions ("do you have a girlfriend?", "what do you like to do for
fun?", "where do you live?", "how old are you?", etc.). Now I'm still in pretty good shape
due to my keeping up with my exercise, and when I swim (as is common) I wear a swim cap.
Jen mentioned to me that she was surprised at how old I was (I've managed to retain a
fairly youthful appearance) after I removed my swim cap, which revealed my grayed temples
and brown hair.

I'd started asking her what she did for fun, where do you live, etc., to see where the
conversation was going, and then she told me she'd wondered if I would be interested in
meeting her mom (a-ha!). So I asked her what her mom looks like, and she said "she looks
just like me, only 22 years older...". Jen started telling me her mom was divorced, and her
father lived on the other side of the country. Apparently, they just didn't get along and so
they decided to separate when her father was offered a position in Los Angeles. He left her
with the house and Jen had been given the option of living with either parent. She opted
for her mother because she grew up here, all her friends were here, was in school, etc.

Her mom worked in sales in a local pharmaceutical company, and while a lot of her clients
were local, she did have to travel from time to time. We had discussed (while hanging
around in the hydro-spa) a number of things I liked to do (travel, hiking, camping, etc.)
and she thought we'd hit it off great because thats what her mom enjoyed as well, and her
mom also liked to swim.

Jen suggested we meet at the pool over the weekend and she'd bring her mother along. So
I figured what the heck - if her mom looked like she did that could very well prove interesting.
We arranged a time, and I went to the pool the following Sunday afternoon and jumped in
to do my usual routine. Before long I saw two women in the lane next to mine, and the shape
looked just like Jens. So I stood up at the wall at

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THE END

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