Everyone can do it. Why can't I ??

32 isn't too old. And sozobe has a good idea about kickboards. You can be assured you won't sink, so you can kick properly and be relaxed in the water. Try messing about with one in the shallow end... Or hold onto the edge of the pool and practice kicking. The more fluent your kick, the more lift you'll get -- keep your body straight and concentrate on kicking out of the water -- you'll end up floating!

kick
stroke
breathe

love it. Wy really brought me back to the zone. I was talking to my old swimming buddy last night. Told her I want to get back to the pool regularly. We're going to find one again. We want to be in that zone. She didn't even make me promise not to sing when I'm doing the breast stroke.

All I do anymore is sidestroke -- face never in water, no splashing, can carry on conversation (as long as other sidestroker is on opposite side), enjoy scenery, etc.

hamburger taught me a neat little trick to remember the pattern of the sidestroke - he called it 'the apple-stealer' - reach up with one hand to steal the apple - bring the hand with the apple down to the other hand which is coming up to meet it - put the apple in your pocket on that side - repeat. It helped me make the side-stroke reversible for myself.

Oh, good trick! I can do it on either side... learned it in the ocean and wanted to watch my position vs. the beach both ways!

Omigosh... with three of us I think we could have a water ballet of side-swimmers!

Forgot to mention that I can't water ski. Kept falling over backwards when most beginners fell over frontwards.

HOWEVER, I can do the back stroke. In Virginia when it rained and rained, that's the way I got to work.