Sunday was a long day. I came off of working 7 straight, and had two lawns that had to be mowed before nightfall. The coming week was threatening to be a challenging one, and I was ready to fold under the pressure. This would be a good time to simply retreat to a couch or maybe even the bed and allow my mind a moment of blindness to the legion of the day.
And yet... the air was perfect and the sun shone brightly. I had the awareness that my eleven year old son and my 8 year old daughter occupy these rings on the stump of life just this once. And so... I grabbed my hat, walked away from the grass, banished thoughts of occupation from my mind and simply went.
We arrived at the park and signed the waivers for our boats. Ducks swam across the surface, lead by a proud white swan. We watched a hawk circling above the lake and were started by bullfrogs breaking the tension of the water with their sudden leaps. My shoulders flexed as the yellow-tipped oar silently sliced into the water and propelled our craft forward. I paused... and I noticed my life in a still shot as I grabbed by phone to capture the moment.
I made the right choice today. Can you see my family from my perspective? There were pressures in our lives enough that justified our missing this moment... and still, we are here. And this moment rates higher in the stuff of life than the deadlines, demands, and ridiculous pressures that we perpetuate. My retired neighbors will have to scoff at my grass. The worries of the day have found their place as inconsequential in the smiles of my children.
This was a moment to find perspective.
My wife and my daughter on still waters under an open sky. The symbolism of the moment flooded my heart. The surface of this lake is as subject to storms as are our daily lives... and yet, there is absolute wonder to be found when we take advantage of the moments we are given.
As I look forward to the days ahead... my sight only takes me so far. And I am working daily to be willing to move forward into the waters that are unseen.
I look at the surface of the water... and am reminded of two who once stepped on their surface.
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