Toni and I finally took to the water this morning after months of fretting about how our aging bodies would handle getting in and out of the kayaks. Over the past months we have tried to think of some kind of pull-bar arrangement that would help us to our feet, but couldn't come up with anything. We finally decided that we should just go, and let the chips fall where they may. As it turned out, we managed the task fairly well. That is to say, no one fell in the water. Being a chipper 65 to Toni's 70, I landed first so that I could help her if necessary. I made it gracelessly to my feet and onto dry land on the second try, with surprisingly little difficulty. I pulled Toni onto the beach and she managed to push her hind end up onto the back of the kayak. From there, she took my hand, stood up, and stepped out. With a triumphant hug, we loaded the kayaks into our individual cars and headed home.
The weather was perfect for our voyage, sunny with a little breeze, not too hot. The water was like glass until we got to the lake at the end of the river. There it was a little choppy. We floated along, rocking with the movement, and I wondered if that might be the way it is in the womb......at least before the fetus grows too big to move freely. It's calm and soothing, yet little by little the first stirrings of boredom creep in. The urge to move on gets more compelling and eventually we put the paddles into the water and start to take control. I suppose that's like the fetus, too, moving into the birth canal without any clue about why, or what lies ahead. The only impetus is to change what is, even if it means going into the completely unknown.
I thought I was working on a good analogy there, but to compare embarking on the process of birth with the process of not knowing how to get out of a boat is a bit of a reach. I better leave it at that.
No comments:
Post a Comment