Thank You

College Landing Park, Williamsburg, Virginia (Click picture for larger view)

"There are those who pass like ships in the night, who meet for a moment, then sail out of sight with never a backward glance of regret; folks we know briefly then quickly forget. Then there are friends who sail together, through quiet waters and stormy weather, helping each other though joy and through strife. And they are the kind who give meaning to life." ~ Anonymous

At 5 AM this morning as I was getting ready for a quick trip to Williamsburg, I checked my site and found that it was Michele's site of the day. What a surprise! Thank you Michele! Since I was out of pocket for the morning, it may take time to visit everyone who so graciously left comments here, but I will eventually make it.

My daughter is at William and Mary as a transfer student, as many of my online friends know. She is only an hour away, compared to twelve hours last year. I made the first of the "Mom, I can't find my brown shirt...oh, it's there in the closet?...I was going to wear it Friday to the convocation...could you bring it up...and by the way could you bring the cleaning supplies too and maybe we could have breakfast " calls. I got away by 5:30 am so my van with one person would still be legal on the HOV lanes, made it through the tunnel across the bay and found my way to her dorm by 6:40AM. Then I waited for about 50 minutes for her to appear. I anticipated this based on past experience so I took a book to read. Having been through move-in day just last week, my knees said "No more stairs please" so I didn't go to see her room. It's just that if I don't see it I can still create a fantasy room in my mind where all things are neat and orderly. Why deal with the cold hard reality of a really, really small dorm room filled too full?

We had a nice breakfast and the requested items were transferred to her car. We got Starbucks and sat in the air conditioned coolness of Barnes & Noble for a while. She had classes starting at 11 AM so I dropped her off on campus and headed back.

There is a small park off the road I took back to the interstate, College Landing Park. It is just a small park, a wooden bridge to walk out over the wetlands, a few benches under the trees and a little ramp to the water. There is little traffic there. Two cars were parked at one end, one car empty the other with two people in it. No, I didn't stare to see what they were doing but words such as "lover's lane" and "public displays of affection" should be enough for you. An older couple pulled in after I did, stayed awhile and left. It is peaceful there. Nyssa and I visited here another time this summer but it was raining so difficult to take pictures.

Today it was perfect. Not too hot. Not too humid. Sunshine and a little north breeze. The Canadian geese were gathered, two different groups on opposite sides of the waterway, honking at each other and occasionally meeting in the middle to have a little spat with pecking and flapping of wings, then retreating to their respective sides. A couple of Great Blue Herons were fishing in the marshes; quite successfully too. Along the banks in the mud were hundreds of Red-jointed fiddler crabs with their one large claw (indicates the male), scattering quickly with any movement on the bank; some were in their mud burrows with only the claw protruding. It must have been low tide as the water usually covers the mud of these marshes. There were two or three varieties of butterflies and grasshoppers as well as a few wasps. It was a photographic paradise and so I stayed there clicking away for almost an hour.

Note to Nyssa: While walking along the grassy shoreline, guess what I "stumbled" on? That's right, a hole. It was just a small hole in the ground, but you couldn't see it for the grass. If there is a hole, I will find it, step in it and fall to the ground. Hoping the little elderly couple wouldn't think I was hurt or having a seizure, I whipped my camera up (after wiping the dew off) and started taking pictures from the sitting position, trying to look like "I meant to do that". I thought it was quite effective. No worse for wear and the dampness from the grass dried before I left.

As I was about to leave this woman arrived with her bright blue plastic kayak. I saw her put a book down inside and earphones on her head. She paddled silently away from the shore only disturbing the geese from their gathering at the ramp edge. I'd like to believe she was headed for a secret quiet place, only she could find, away from all prying eyes; a place where she could sit in the shadow of an overhanging tree, the water lapping at the side of the boat, reading to her heart's content and listening to the quiet music of Vivaldi or Debussy.

All in all, it was a joy to simply stop and look closely to find small wonders of God's world. Just the sound of the breeze, the chirping of the crickets and the honks of the geese for music. The warmth of the sun with the coolness of the north breeze and the ability to just be quiet and still.

I had a good morning.