Day 36: halfway

We’ve been by the lake for a little more than a week. It feels good to relax and take it easy, even if I can’t get into the water, yet. I know my day will come. Today marks five weeks and a day since my last day of school and my summer break has been full of surprises. It also means summer break is at its halfway point.

It’s also been four weeks and a day since my knee surgery and the incision is healing well and it looks good, but I am erring on the side of caution before venturing into the lake or submerging or exposing my new knee to any sort of water beyond a shower. Yesterday, I checked with my physical therapist and she told me to wait, so I will. A few more days out of the water are a small price to pay.

We’ve been spending our summers along this lake since we were married and I recall my first visit in the July of ’92. Each summer has a been a bit different, there were the years before we had kids, the years of infancy and the toddler years – twice, the years with the in-laws and now without them, and now the teenage years and post teenage years, for one. Our kids are growing and so are we. This place is full of memories for me and our kids and there is a constancy in our place by the lake.

Last Friday marked a first, at least for me. I was sitting on the deck reading when I looked up to see a float plane landing on the far side lake. I am certain there have float planes which have landed and taken off on the lake before, but I had never seen one or seen pictures of a float plane on our lake.

Friday, taxiing to the small bay

I grabbed the good camera and took photos. I watched as the plane taxied along the shoreline and anchored in the bay not far from our cottage. I wasn’t alone, almost all of the folks along the lake watched as the plane moved down the lake to the bay.

Saturday morning, we watched the plane taxi along the shore in the opposite direction and take off, not once, but twice. It returned and docked for another day. Sunday morning it took off for a final time and it was gone.

The float plane reminded me of a book I read when I was learning to be a teacher – Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. It’s the story of a young boy, Brian, who is flying to visit his father for the summer and it crashes in the Canadian wilderness. The pilot is killed but Brian survives using the hatchet his mother had given him before he boarded the plane. Brian learns to survive using the hatchet and trial and error. The story brought back memories of reading (and re-reading) My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Both books are excellent stories to spur adventure and curiosity in a young reader, especially one like me.

It’s incredible how my memories are connected to the books I’ve read and songs I’ve listened to. I was reminded this morning how complex our world really is. It makes me that much more curious and full of wonder.

The past couple of days have been windy and the lake has been choppy. This morning it is calm and the lake is smooth. A perfect opportunity to get out on the lake and enjoy the water. Perhaps, I’ll take another boat ride after being towed to the boat.

It is Tuesday and it is half way between the beginning and the end of summer break. But the end is always a new beginning, life is a cycle and we are constantly moving forward. Always.

The leg and the knee continue to heal and I am reminded by blogging friend Jansen Schmidt that we need to be patient and positive – two words for my Tuesday. Healing takes time and patience which is a quality I sometimes find I am a little bit short of. It also takes being positive.

Regardless of whether it is Tuesday or halfway, its going to be a great day. I know it and I can feel it. I am going to be patient and positive with whatever comes my way. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, one surprise after another, but ready for whatever comes my way.

What two words do you have for your day?

 

8 thoughts on “Day 36: halfway

  1. No!!!! Say it isn’t so; we are really counting down summer? Here is a better stat. I just finished my 5th of 6 chemo treatments! Hopefully, I will be ready when your calendar says it is time to meet the students. Enjoy every day Clay!

    1. Moira… I intended to answer your comment earlier along with writing a post about counting days vs making the days count but alas time slipped away. Summer has been busy- new knee and all. I am pulling for you in mind and spirit. can’t wait to see you on Thursday, 8/16. It will be here sooner than we think. Peace and enjoy the last few days of summer break – make them count.

    1. Love lake days and nights…. last weekend traffic on teh lake was massive. Mid-week it’s pretty peaceful. We were on teh lake yesterday afternoon and it was pretty wide open. The sunset was amazing, as always. Have wonderful week and weekend.

    1. Love it! Aren’t our dogs amazing? Though, in my case it would be ‘catch the dog’… if she got got off her leash or tether while we are here. Ivy the wonder dog has taken on some epic chase adventures. Thankfully, it’s been more than a year since our last dog chase by the lake. At home we have an electric fence and she is very respectful of her boundaries… even when it is off or the battery in her collar is dead. I njoy beginning my day sipping coffee with my dog. Carpe Canis, indeed. Have wonderful wind down to your weekend by the beach. Peace.

  2. Thanks for the shout out Clay. Patience is something I must also work on. There’s no way to rush healing and there’s no better cure than patience.

    Thanks for sharing your cool pictures. I remember watching a float plane taxi out and take off when I was in Victoria BC. It looks like fun.

    Take care of yourself. Have a great rest of the week.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

    1. Patricia, Thank you. When I read your post this week, it made me ‘hear’ what my therapists have been telling me all along, ‘take it slow, healing takes time.’ I believe patience is a virtue we all should be working on at some point in our lives. I waffle between patient and impatient with the needle often pointing to impatient. Thanks for the compliments on the photos….it’s gonna be a great week. Peace.

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