A Healthy Body (image)

Last week a City of Calgary employee came up to Edward and I as we sat in the Killarney Pool hot tub and asked if we'd be willing to share our story about what the pool has meant to us.

The city was celebrating it's recreation facilities and hoping to create some posters celebrating people's experiences. She asked if I'd be willing to share our story and then have a picture taken. Given what the pool has meant to us, I quickly said 'yes'. The next day I sent her some words and we set up a time for a photo.

Two days later, after making sure that Edward was cleanly shaven and wearing a cool T-shirt, we met for our picture in the pool lobby. "Oh," she said, "I was hoping to take the photo in the pool area. Would that be OK?" I told her it would—figuring she would just take a shot of the two of us swimming laps. Earlier that morning I had joked with my wife Fran about how 'awful' it would be to have my grandad-bod plastered on posters throughout the facility. As if that would ever happen.

After Edward and I finished our laps, we told our photographer we were ready for our shot. I figured she could get a nice headshot of Edward and I posing in the pool. "Oh," she said. "I was hoping we could take the photo on the pool deck—so that Edward could hold up a sign that I've made." I quickly suggested that maybe she could just include Edward in the shot, given we were celebrating his swimming achievements.

After pausing for a second, she said that would be fine. When she went to grab her sign from the office, I had some second thoughts. In the book I'd just finished writing about Edward and I, I wrote about all that he'd taught me about having a healthy body image. Never once has he been self-conscious about his physical form at the pool. He really has helped me be less self-conscious as well. Yet still, I had this anxious knee-jerk response to the poolside photo request.

So, as we waited for our photographer to return, I turned to Edward and I asked him if he would like me to be in the photo with him. He quickly gave me a thumbs up and I knew I had to do it.

"Who cares?", I thought. This is about Edward.

And so, up on the pool deck we went, and had our photo taken (and yes... I did strategically position myself in behind Edward just a little bit).