Head Under Water

Greek baptizein (Βάπτισμα)= “immerse, dip in water,” also figuratively, “be over one’s head” (in debt, etc.), “to be soaked (in wine)”

This from https://www.etymonline.com/word/baptize

When I get into a lake, I like to put my head under water, too, even if I’m just there for a quick dip. It doesn’t often do wonderful things for my hairstyle, but it seems important. I couldn’t tell you why, exactly, but I think it comes from Achilles. He was protected after having been dipped in the river Styx, except for his heel. It would have made more sense for his mother to hold him by his armpits and douse him, but maybe she was forbidden from having her hands in the water? Maybe becoming invulnerable was only for the future hero and not for his mother’s hands? If you think about it, his mother was fine dunking his head under there but held onto his tiny heel; that sounds a bit like an attempted drowning, (“Ooops! He’s slipped. No more baby.”)

But I want the full protection, so I go all the way in. I want to be “in over my head”. I don’t often open my eyes (I wear contacts in the water and I’m afraid I’ll lose them) but sometimes I have goggles with me and can watch the fish, or the observe the underwater plants. It’s beautiful and quiet there, another world.

The last three days I’ve been in the water, in two different natural lakes. The water temperature’s around 20°C most places, so cool but not cold. The lakes are so beautiful and I just want to be part of them, even if it is just for a few minutes on the way to doing something else. Ruining my hairstyle is just an added bonus.