Throughout the next 12 weeks, as I go through my Unstoppable journey, I will be faced with a variety of weekly challenges. This week’s challenge is to take a freezing cold shower.

Ah, yes, the cold shower. I’m familiar with these, but the reason why isn’t expected.

I know how I react to cold showers thanks to adventures with Habitat for Humanity. When I was in high school, for one week a summer, I went through a program called Inward Bound with my youth group from church. In that week, I would spend the day volunteering with Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity, and in the evenings, we would do something as a group - be it serving at a soup kitchen, having a retreat evening, or walking the labyrinth at Trinity Cathedral. We would stay the night in a church that hosted us - and the host church I remember most is the oil can church - Epworth-Euclid Methodist Church.

We would sing songs and have laser light shows with our flash lights at night. During the day, we were laying foundations (cinder blocks and mortar, alongside skilled masons), demolishing old buildings (yay for prybars and hard hats!), and building steel-framed houses.

Anyhow… the cold shower….

So at the end of our workday, we would go to the Salvation Army on E. 55th and shower in their showers. This was my first experience with open public showers and also with cold showers. I didn’t like showering in the open like that, as I had self-image issues growing up. (It wouldn’t be until after my pregnancies that I had a true appreciation for myself.) Since I didn’t like showering in the open, I would turn on the water and take a cold shower, because by the time I would get washed up, the hot water wouldn’t be ready. So many cold showers then - both as a convenience and refreshing on a hot summer day.

As I got older…

As I got older, I found cold showers to be handy for getting a quick shower in and move on. However, I’ve learned that they wake me up, so I have to save them for the morning.

Did you know there are also benefits to cold showers? Check out some of the articles I’ve found on this:

And while I am not a fan of all of the sites in my searches that refer only to men, I can’t help but include this one if only for James Bond (preferably of the Sean Connery or Roger Moore era):

This morning, this was a good way to feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.

Weekly challenge #1 - complete!