I originally posted this collage on my Facebook timeline 3 weeks ago, December 14th, not too long after the pictures were taken, once my defrosted fingers were back to their usual nimble selves. The original caption was: Who else is ready for the Great Polar Bear Challenge 2020? followed by a few hashtags I had thought of while freezing my butt off in the water: #rockhardnipples #fuckcancer #notcrazy #lovinglife – nothing offensive in my book, and once I saw the post disappear, I quickly read Facebook’s community guidelines and couldn’t find anything the post violated either.
Anyway, somebody must have been very offended by something in my post and reported it as inappropriate because a few days later, Facebook deleted it. I could no longer see it on my timeline, and even the notifications of likes and comments were gone. It’s a shame Facebook doesn’t provide any explanation as to what guideline(s) your deleted post violated, they only direct you to the document so you can read everything and be none the wiser. Also, they protect the identity of whoever reported you, and I’m afraid they don’t have the decency to reach out to that person and advise them to a) communicate their feelings about your post to you so you can work it out together, or b) just unfriend you instead of reporting your posts anonymously.
Cold water swimming
Let me explain why I decided to take a dip in a pond in the middle of Idaho December. My bilateral mastectomy had been scheduled for early January and I wanted to bid my puppies farewell. How? By participating in the Great Annual Polar Bear Challenge on New Year’s Day, of course! I had only done a similar outdoor plunge once before (on a ski trip with my gang of dancing friends). So I felt like I needed to at least try it again before joining a crowd of people doing the same.
Now, I wasn’t a total newbie to cold water. I have been taking cold showers daily since September 2013, I believe. The reason I started? The flu and cold season was upon us and I wanted to boost my immunity so as to be better equipped to fight the millions of germs sick people everywhere insist on spreading because YOLO or whatever.
Taking a cold shower is not fun the first 20 times or so, I’m not gonna lie. But I was determined and I persisted, and it got so much easier! After a while, it just became a part of my daily routine. I do take an occasional break if I’m not feeling great, but I guess I shouldn’t do that. Feeling a bit low might actually be the best time for some cool water therapy.
The Challenge
Did I participate in the challenge on New Year’s Day? Sadly, I did not. Not because I chickened out but I didn’t have anyone to go with me and cheer me on. And I didn’t want to be alone (in a crowd) as I feared my one last dip with my girls would be pretty emotional. No worries, though, my surgery isn’t until Tuesday. Watch this space tomorrow! Snow/rain showers in the forecast, it should be fun.
It wasn’t me! I’d never report your posts, Luluska! The power goes out in the building that I live in a lot, and we don’t have hot water because the hot water heater goes out, so I started taking cold showers then. I realized that I felt a lot better after taking them, so I searched for it on the internet, and I saw that it was totally a thing, and that there are a lot of health benefits! Who knew?
Of course, it wasn’t you! Glad cold showers are working for you, too. I kinda love them now. =)