GR ANDMA
KNOWSBEST
Wateraerobicsisn’ttheonly
hobbyhavinga next-genrevival.
Foranactivitythat’llstretchyou
bothphysicallyandmentally,
it’scooltotakecuesfromyour
eldersandconsidertrying out
one of these...LIFEDRAWING
EvendaVincihadtostartsomewhere.
If Leowerealivetoday,webetyou’d
findhimsketchingfigures,sippingwine
andlisteningtochilledbeatsatMister
MorrisinPreston,Melbourne.Tuesday
eveningclassesare$22,andyou
canbringa friendforanextra$8–
becauselet’sfaceit,drawinga naked
strangersometimesrequiresa little
reinforcement.mistermorris.com.auNEEDLEPOINT
There’ssomethingaboutputting
needletofabricthat’sjustsodamn
relaxing,whichis whytheage-old
pastimeofneedlepointis finding
favourwitha newagebracket.
E-tailerWeAreKnittersoffers
pre-packagedneedlepointkits,
stockedwitheverythingyouneed
foranEtsy-worthycreation.
weareknitters.com.auTAPDANCING
Twoleftfeetcanstillforward-back-
stamp!Signupforanintensive
minitapcourseatDanceDomain
inSydney’sStPeters– duringfour
weeklyone-hourclasses,you’ll
masterthebasicsandbeshuffling
yourwaytoa newskillinno time.
dancedomain.com.auIwasn’tasbodypositiveasI’dalwaysthoughtI was.Yes,I’d
madesomeprogresssincemydaysoflingeringinthehigh-school
changeroomafterPEuntileveryoneleftorpretendingthatI was
toomatureforthetrendyteenstores that didn’t carry my size, but
Istillhada longwaytogo.
As the weekspassed,thelocker-roombirthday-suitsituation
startedtobothermelessandless.Inanera
wherewomenarebeginningtotakeback
controloftheirownbodiesandrewritethe
narrative of beauty, these women were
silentlyandunknowinglyleadingthecharge
in my life. They normalisedbodies of all
types,sizesandages.Slowly,I startedto
buildthefoundationofself-love that I’d talked
aboutbutneverreallyhad.
Mytime withthe swimming grandmas
was cut short when I moved out of the
neighbourhooda fewmonthslater,butI still
think of them whenever I step into — or,
perhapsmoreappropriately,stepoutof—
a swimsuit.I thoughtofthemwhenI boughtmy
firstone-pieceandditchedtheknee-length
swimshorts.I thoughtofthemwhenI did
alightning-quickchangeinanopenchange
roomforthefirsttime.AndI thoughtofthemwhenI sawother
womenwatchingme.I’mnotyetatthenaked-in-the-locker-room
phaseofmybody’sjourney— it mighttakemeuntilI’ma swimming
grandma myself — but that’s okay; I know I’ll get there.Emesmerisedbythebrightlycolouredwaterdumbbellsandneon
poolnoodlesthattheinstructortossedatattendeeswhilethey
aqua-joggedtothebeatofanearlynoughtiesclubremix.The
youngerwomenintheclassdiligentlyfacedforward,whilethe
olderladieswavedtomygrandma— shehadfriendseverywhere
—astheygiggledattheirattemptstodothemore complicated
moves. Their laughter echoed across the
sharedpoolandmadetheclasssoundmuch
moreenjoyablethanstandinginthelongline
tojumpoffthedivingboard.Iwantedin.I had
noconceptofexerciseorcalorieburning,but
I’msurethat’swhatwasonmygrandma’s
mindasshegentlysteeredmeawayandtold
me,withanoteofresignationinhervoice,
thatonedayI wouldbeoldenoughtogoto
aquafit.Now,adecadelater,I washere.
Fromthatfirstmorning,I lovedtheclassesas
muchasI hadhoped.I’djokewiththedozen
or so grandmas bobbing beside me, and
we’dheckletheinstructorswhentheymadeus
dothemoredifficultsets—allingoodfun,of
course.Overall,it waswaybetterthanwalking
ona treadmillbymyselfinsomelonelygym.
EverythingwasperfectwhileI wasinthe
water,butoncetheclassendedandit wastimetoexitthepool,I’d
feelmyself-confidencewaver.Forthelongesttime,I hadassured
myselfthatI lovedmyplus-sizebodyjustasit was,butasI walked
upthepool’slongrampandthecamouflagingeffects of the water
dropped away, I couldn’t stop thinking
abouthowmyconstrictingswimshortsand
tankini—deliberatelychosento coveras
muchskinaspossible—stucktomy body
andleftmecompletelyexposed.
Aftermakingit overthepooldeckand
throughtheshowers,I’drushwithmytowel
wrappedsafelyaroundmetooneofthe
cubiclechangeroomsandtrynottolook
atthesewomenwhohadnoqualmsabout
sittingnakedwhiletheyrummagedthrough
their quilted gym bags for lotion or
underwearandgossipedaboutgrandkids.
They’dstand,nude,infrontofme,asking
meaboutmyweekendplans,myjobandif
I hadanynewmeninmylifewhile I politely
triedtostareattheirfaces.
Their nakedness wasn’t sexual or
voyeuristic;it justwas.Butit stillmademe
uncomfortable.Overtime,it becameclear
thatmyaversiontotheirnuditywasn’treally
about them. Shyingawayfrom my pool
friends’ soft, sagging skin and lumpy
stomachs made me realise that maybe“EVERYTHING
was PERFECT
WHILE I was
in the WATER,
BUT ONCE
the CLASS
ENDED and
IT WAS TIME
to EXIT THE
POOL, my
CONFIDENCE
WAVERED”163
W ELLENESS
Additional
words:
Kate
Lancaster.
Photography: Getty Images