Status Updates From At the Pond: Swimming at th...

The title is very fitting as Moggach turned to the pond in a desperate need for solitude from the chaos of motherhood. She found this solitude as she became one with nature, surrounded by its wildness and diving into the freedom that it provides. I think it's probably the most simplistic so far but you can tell that she was greatly inspired by these trips, especially from the interactions she saw in the Mixed Pond.

In Like A Rat, Goldstone is in quite a mess. In a way, it’s a tale of being young and reckless and alive but also quite sad with wanting. The comparison to herself as a rat was well done: eating food out of the garbage, running around at the night, and noticed by passive-aggressive neighbors. The inclusion of the abortion and the tiredness that clung to her in the normality of life that day was touching.

In The First, Davies returns to her lifelong of swimming for the first time in years in the wake of a major breakup. Struggling with body image issues, she travels from her home to the Pond, where she meets a friend and together, they sink into the pond. Overall, I enjoyed the thoughts in parentheses sprinkled throughout though I do think this may be the most lacking essay since the first two in Winter.

The ninth essay Landmarks was rather miserable in tone as the writer both craved to be desired by those around her but also felt uncomfortable. She searched for bodies of water anywhere she went to dive in, to experience even a bit of joy as she struggled to give into pleasure. There were many beautiful sentences in this essay, and the footnotes were well placed.