It Was Never Really About the Cold Water

At the end of 2025, while everyone was making New Year’s resolutions, I decided I wanted to make a simple bucket list for 2026 instead.

Nothing extreme. Nothing life-altering. Just small things that made me feel alive.

One of them was: Jump into the ocean once a month.

That felt doable.

So on January 1st in the rain, my friend Kylie and I joined a group of parents from our kids’ elementary school for a New Year’s Day plunge in Pacifica.

At the time, I didn’t realize it would quietly become one of the most meaningful parts of my week.

One thing I’ve noticed about myself with an ADHD brain is that I can overthink almost anything. Sometimes so much that I end up not doing the thing at all. My brain wants to prepare for every possible outcome before I even begin.

For that first plunge, I packed everything: extra towels, dry clothes, sandals, sweatshirts, jackets, plastic bags for wet clothes… basically survival gear for a 2-minute swim.

But I quickly realized: you really don’t need much.

A swimsuit. A towel. A little courage. And the willingness to not overthink it.

That simplicity became part of the magic.

Now some plunges are just me and another mama standing at the shoreline talking about life before running in. Other days there are 15 of us: moms, babies, friends, newcomers who decided last minute to join because they happened to see an Instagram Story and thought, “Why not?”

And honestly, those spontaneous yeses are some of my favorite moments.

Because the plunges were never really about the cold water.

They became about: presence, community, connection, nervous system resets, courage, getting out of your head and back into your body. About proving to yourself that you can do hard things. About remembering that joy can be simple. About feeling fully awake for a few minutes.

“You can do anything for 120 seconds.”

Most plunges only last a couple of minutes.

But sometimes something shifts.

In March, my daughter Kinsley joined me for a plunge that I thought would last maybe 30 seconds before she’d want out.

We stayed in for over 12 minutes together. She didn’t want to leave.

And I remember standing there realizing how rare it is these days to experience something with no distractions, no pressure, no performance. Just complete presence.

Cold water has this beautiful way of bringing people into the moment instantly.

No one’s worried about emails or timelines or the million tabs open in their brain.

You just laugh. Breathe. Feel alive. And connect.

That’s what the plunges are really about.

As an aside, this beautiful soul and one of my bestest friends, is moving to Portugal for a year. While I'm sad for me, I couldn't be more excited for her to have manifested such an amazing opportunity for her and her family.

With love from Pacifica,

Robin