What a difference a day makes!
By Mary Anne Smrz
Published by NBCS, Inc. at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Mary Anne Smrz
Visit Mary Anne’s Author Page at Smashwords
Email: red-kayak@comcast.net
Smashwords Edition, License Notes:
Thank you for downloading this free story. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This story may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the story remains in its complete original form and credited to the author. If you enjoyed the story, please return to Smashwords.com to discover Mary Anne’s other works. Thank you for your support.
What a difference a day makes!
The spring season here in the north continues to adapt and change, and I awoke to a bit different day today. Warmer temperatures and sunshine! Yes, sunshine! Here in the Midwest we have been beleaguered with so many cloudy days this winter and spring that the sun seems like a foreign object in the sky.
Another day for paddling, I decided. I was greeted this day by two common loons out on the water. They normally pass through here this time of year on their way to the north woods. I just love loons! I was anxious to be outside and get on with the day.
I grab my walking stick and take Bayfield for our three mile shoreline hike – a real treat for both of us. Today’s hike was all about the big birds – four immature bald eagles and a Sandhill Crane. One of the special things about this shoreline hike is that when it is so quiet, you can hear the sounds of the bird’s wings flapping as they lift off before you even see them. I feel as though I can lift off with them. We hiked to the edge of the ridge and sat on a rock, soaking in the glory of the sun and its warmth.
I checked the temperature when we returned. 45˚, winds from the south at 6mph making it feel like 42˚. A much better day to paddle, even though a southerly wind makes the lake a bit choppier. Carpe diem, I say. Time to get out on the water.
No winter hat or winter jacket today, just my trusty Life is Good® kayaking hat and my windbreaker. Even though I still had a few layers of clothing on, this was a little more like it. I paddled along the shoreline that Bayfield and I had just hiked. On our path I thought I caught sight of the light brown bushy tail of a coyote whisk by and further down I noticed the silhouette of a deer ambling through the woods. How could life be grander?
About two weeks ago, tornadic 70+ mph winds ripped through this area, and a tornado touched down about two miles northeast of here. The shoreline was piled with hunks of debris just hurled upon the rocks – branches, tree trunks, entire trees that had been knocked down and fallen into the water. I can only imagine the wild fury of waves on the lake. It must have been an awesome expression of Mother Nature in one of her fiercest moods!
It reminded me of paddling last year at this time in Puget Sound. I was on a retreat on Whidbey Island off the coast of Seattle with internationally renowned author Joan Anderson for one of her “Weekend to Change Your Life” retreats. I was honored to paddle tandem with Cathy, an experienced kayaker from the Jersey shore, and we paddled through the Sound in silence. A 5-hour stretch of complete silence was part of this phenomenal retreat experience. As we paddled along the shoreline, two things came into my view simultaneously – a sandy stretch of shoreline with huge piles of driftwood just hurled onto its shore, and a bald eagle flying overhead. I remember thinking about my life circumstances prior to that retreat and I felt like I was under that pile of driftwood on the shore, with so many pieces of my life just hurled upon me. I thought of Joan’s words during this retreat that “Change had been thrust upon you.” You bet it had. And then I looked up again and realized what I really wanted was to be soaring like that bald eagle. Tears streamed down my salty face as I realized the journey from shore to sky was a long one for me indeed.
So now, one year later, as I recollected that special memory and took stock of where I am in life today, I joyfully realized that I felt more like the eagles Bayfield and I saw earlier than the storm strewn debris on the shore. I bowed my head, honored the moment and said a prayer of gratitude, for the sunshine that has come into my life.
About the Author
Mary Anne Smrz is a paddler, who uses insights gained on the water to enrich her own life and the lives of others. In her life of outdoor passions, she kayaks, loves to spend time in nature and hikes with her yellow lab, Bayfield. She writes from her home in Wisconsin. The balance and focus she gains from being “of the water” enriches every facet of her life and career.
Paddle onto the Red Kayak Website
Please visit Mary Anne on Smashwords.