Today I Saw Eve Wading

I have a part-time job working with my cousin, who is developmentally disabled. Her name is Judy and she has Prader-Willi Syndrome. Yes, I know… you’ve never heard of it. Unless somebody you know has it, you probably never will. I wouldn’t have heard of it either if I didn’t know Judy.

In spite of her challenges, Judy is very easy to get along with. Part of our routine is for me to take her to the local YMCA so she can get her exercise. She does stretches for her back (she has Scoliosis and Hyperkyphosis, not to mention Osteoporosis), and she usually walks 20 – 45 minutes on the treadmill. Today we got to the “Y” around noon, and we went back to get a treadmill right away. The place was empty, so Judy had her pick of the machines. She chose her favorite treadmill (treadmill #1), and she was soon off and walking.

I usually stand nearby and read a magazine while she does this, and today was no exception. I began reading a copy of People magazine until I realized it was a Spanish Edition. I can read a little Spanish, but an entire magazine of it is pretty worthless to me as far as reading material goes. After scanning over the pictures I traded it for a copy of Newsweek. I opened it on a window ledge, leaned forward, and began reading.

The window looks out the back of the building, where they have a large outdoor swimming pool. Trees surround it, and it is a rather nice and secluded area. Nobody was out there, which was a bit unusual since it was noon on a Saturday and almost 90 degrees outside. The pool is usually packed under such conditions.

Soon after I began reading I noticed a rather attractive woman walk out and head towards a lawn chair by the pool. “Cool," I thought, “A little something to spice up the view”. She began to disrobe from her street clothes, and it was then that I noticed that she was pregnant.

This put a bit of a damper on my “sightseeing” attitude. It isn’t that pregnant women can’t be sexy or beautiful, because they certainly can. But when a woman is carrying somebody else’s child, it usually takes away any desire that I have to feel lustful towards her. Call it guilt or call it respect, I don’t know. Either way, my initial reaction was quickly tempered by this revelation to create a more respectful appreciation for her physical appearance.

I watched as this beautiful woman walked over to the pool and began lowering herself in slowly, allowing time to adjust to the water as she did so. In between snippets of magazine I would glance up and note her progress towards the center of the pool as she gradually waded out in the shallow end.

It was during one such glance that I noticed the expression of pure serenity on her face. Her eyes were closed, and her face was lifted slightly towards the sun. A gentle smile was on her lips, and her fingers dragged along the top of the water as she slowly glided through it. She was completely content, and I imagined how nice it must feel for her to have the pressure on her lower back eased by the buoyancy of her stomach in the water.

I suddenly became entranced by this voyeuristic vision of motherhood.

Although the scene did not physically change, in my mind it transformed entirely. I saw the first woman -- call her Eve or call her Lucy - I don’t care -- wading in a crystal clear pool at the dawn of humankind. Trees were surrounding her, a waterfall was behind her, and small rocks and reeds lined the shore. She was casually wading in the water; no fear or knowledge of death, no sense of loss or need, and no hatred or anger of any kind. The only thoughts in her mind were that she carried a child, that she would soon be a mother, and that all was right in the world.

Her expression literally brought this image to my mind in an instant.

I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t even notice my friend John, who works at the club, walk up next to me and lean into the window to say hello. I was instantly snapped back to reality, and I began to make casual conversation with him. Shortly after that, Judy’s time on the treadmill was up and I went over to help her down. As the two of us headed over to the mats to do her stretches, I took one last glance out the window.

She was still there, and she was still radiant in the sunlight.