Changing Tides

If you’ve never been to Northern Michigan in the summer, I highly recommend it.  I’ve had the good fortune of enjoying long stays on the UP (Upper Peninsula) throughout my life. It’s a treat to be here anytime during “the season”, but I’m especially fond of being here when the cacophony of children delighting in beach/water activities subsides and sidewalk traffic slows.  The only consistent sound I hear now is the waves gently lapping against the shore.  There’s a meditative quality about it that lends itself to a lot of reflection time, if it doesn’t lull you to sleep first.

This August, two years ago, my father passed away here.  He had a heart attack while swimming his daily evening laps in the water just 25 yards from our front porch.  I wasn’t here at the time, but other family members were and, of course, our community of summer friends were on scene, if not when it happened, pretty soon after.  That was a sad, surreal day.  After such a shock, some might think that a shadow would have been cast over this - our family’s - special place.  How grateful I am that this has not been my grief and moving forward experience.

My dad had a saying: “don’t let the wind hold you back”.  Years before he passed, he also said that it was important to him that he spend his time well.  For him, that meant doing things that gave him a sense of fulfillment and joy: visiting with treasured friends, taking a dream trip, marveling at art, voraciously reading his way through an endless list of books, or indulging in a piece of his homemade cherry pie for breakfast.  My dad did what he wanted to do - for better or worse, logistical inconveniences, physical discomfort, and, sometimes, other people’s preferences, never stood in his way.  He lived.  And he died living.

As I take in this stunning view before me, I think of my dad and his spirit for seizing the day.  His legacy calls me to question what “winds” are holding me back…and you?