Sharon and I have finally returned after a long, somewhat unintended, break. When I say “break” I don’t mean a damn holiday. I do not force visions of beachside resorts or exotic jungle treks but rather the snapping of a twig. Wait… not a twig but instead the branch of an old oak distended far from its trunk and hovering over a tumultuous river. A body of angry water high with foaming white crests. And there I was dangling. In a storm. The old oak is unsympathetic and gives me up to the rage beneath it. A small sacrifice for such nobility. I was stunned by the cold; by the darkness; by the insignificance of my effort. There need not be crocodiles as a part of this plot… I cannot swim and that is punishment enough.
I recall, in this moment, all those swimming lessons where I could not advance with my childhood friends, the distance always too great, the bobs one too many, my legs tangled within the jellyfish bloom, I am sinking like a stone. And my father is there, urging me on, offering support, illustrating the ease of the method and perhaps hoping for me that I will prevail.
I am tenacious… I am optimistic even now… I am grateful… I am determined and I am gasping for one more breath as my bare feet detect the muddy bottom. I can feel it and I am crawling for the bank! I am winning!
And now on this day, after such a break, we approach the gate and we choose to see it as half-open! Because we have the key! The key from our friends who are happy to see us after such a long time!
Oh, Happy 2008!
