Hello, my name is John, and I am a chlorine addict.

Hi, John!

For most of my 44 years, a trip to the pool has been a special occasion. I love the pool. I’m not necessarily a very strong swimmer, but I enjoy just being in the pool, floating and flopping and swimming a little and bobbing and what have you.

Call me a coward, but I hate swimming in natural waters, with slimy rocks or, worse, underwater plants, or, much worse, aquatic wildlife. It gives me the willies. Fine.

My membership at the rec center started Jan. 2. I’ve been a total of seven times since then, including today. I work out in the fitness room and then I goof off in the pool as a way of cooling down. I swim a little, but I wouldn’t really count it as exercise.

I have been going to the rec center after I get off work — I arrive at 3:30 or 4, and since I’m still building up my workout time I sometimes get to the pool as early as 4:30. I think the prospect of getting into the pool has helped me stay diligent in the fitness room. I’m shocked at the lack of a crowd. There are sometimes swimmers in the lanes down at the competitive end of the pool, and sometimes parents and young children down in the roped-off shallow end. But on most of my visits, I’ve had my large portion of the pool, the free-swim portion, all to myself. Today was, for all intents and purposes, the only time I’ve actually had to watch where I was going. A young woman was walking laps around the perimeter of the section, and an older woman was either walking or dogpaddling.

As I lay on my back, floating in the warm water (the only thing I will miss about being fat is the buoyancy), it occurred to me: For the next year, I can swim any day I want to swim. Even if I decide not to work out on a given day, I could still come here just for the pool. I know that seems like a silly thing to get worked up over, but it really made me happy.