Rosemary – Bath of Remembrance

I could smell the pungent aroma of rosemary as I entered the private chamber that Madame Eclectica had prepared for me. I loosened my robe and let it fall to the floor. I stepped into the steaming bath and let the aromatic waters envelop me. My tired and tense muscles began to relax and my mind began to wander.


I have not always loved the water. Washing my hair was a nightmare, as a child. I hated the water running down my face. My mother would hold my head back and pour water over my head, shielding my eyes. She even bought a special shower guard. She put it on my head, it flared out (kind of like a frilled neck lizard) but it stopped me getting soap and water in my eyes.


I hated putting my face in the water. This was not helpful in swimming lessons. Swimming lessons were not pleasant; they became screaming matches with my mother. I didn’t learn to swim until I was eleven years and only because my parents paid for private lessons and I wore a mask. The kind of mask that you wear snorkeling; it allowed me to put my face in the water and enabled me to swim.


After I learnt to swim I entered a race in the school swimming carnival. I didn’t win, in fact I came last, but I didn’t give up. I finished the race cheered on by spectators.