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When the sun warms my skin, the breeze moves my hair and there is good music playing in my ears, life is good. Summer, my favorite time of year. Yesterday, to add more beauty to the day, I was invited to have lunch with friends I have not seen for 4 months. Walking down the dry dusty road, there was joy in my heart. The dogs (Scrappy, Chiripa and Mali) all investigating the brush as they ran circles around me, made me smile. They are so happy with the simple pleasure of going for a walk or run, something we have in common. Sapphire also kept me company today, making large circles above me, but flying low. This made the walk extra special. I stopped many times to watch him ride the currents, something I have always enjoyed, fascinated by their movement. Yes, the perfection of a summer day……
The road is familiar to us all because it is the our running path. Mali knows every easy access to the river along the way, ever hopeful there will be time to retrieve a few sticks from the water. But today, I had a schedule – a lunch date.
The kids saw me stop, they waved and smiled which made my step lighter. It brought me back to time spent on the river with my own family in Slocan, B.C., when every day was a beach day. Nothing but laughter, big smiles, lots of splashing and a picnic lunch, my definition of a perfect summer day. We continued on, although Mali would have been happy to stay and play with them, the sparkle in her eyes unmistakable as she watched.
Because I do not carry my phone when I run, I cannot take photos, even though I see many beautiful things every time I go. But today, I was walking and so had my phone allowing me to share some of the magic of this now familiar place. During the rainy season, the boards on the “Blue Bridge” as it is commonly called here started to deteriorate. The dogs and I were surprised one day when we arrived to find several boards missing. At that time I mostly ran on the opposite side of the river where the houses are because it is quiet, rarely do I encounter vehicles or people. Chiripa was still pregnant, but determined to join me, but when she saw the state of the bridge, she would not cross, I had to carry her.
It was a considerable gap and I could understand why she did not want to cross. She was hesitant to let me carry her also, but I couldn’t leave her behind. We run about another km from the bridge before returning, too long for her to wait for us. Once she got past the big gap, I put her down and she was happy to keep going, no worries. On the return trip, she had no trouble going across, I suppose because she could see far enough ahead to realize she could jump it, plus she had a running start. Isn’t that true for most of us? When we can see far enough ahead, we cope much better, it is when the obstacles are right in front of us, surprising us, we usually have difficulty seeing past them, seeing the solution.
It was difficult for me as well, with my fear of heights, the swinging bridge adding to the concern, but keep your fear to yourself when helping someone else deal with theirs….right?? Something we as parents must learn to do so as not to pass it on. Big steps, slow movement and deep breathing, that was the trick. No problem, we made it, we make it every time we go, even though it causes my heart to flutter each time. I always wonder if there will be a day when I arrive at the bridge to find it impassable, which is why I started running the main road going out.
We didn’t have enough time to satisfy Mali’s needs today, as she could dive for sticks in the river for hours, so she hung her head in disappointment and we continued on our way.
We met our hosts Kerry and Lisa at the bottom of the crazy driveway on this day and drove up, even though driving this road terrifies me. Given the heat of this day however, I was grateful not to have to walk it, and did surprisingly well in the fear department, distracted by the good company!!
We had a lovely visit, a beautiful lunch and great conversation. There has been much improvement on the property since I was there last, a delight to see. Lisa now has a real kitchen with the most spectacular view ever!!! Sitting there watching Sapphire circle in the valley directly in my view as I ate, was the best gift ever of this beautiful day. His presence as we ate assuring me of my blessed journey. For a moment my mind went quiet, I stopped talking and realized the magic of the moment, my view like a screensaver on my computer; perfection!
The last time I was on this special piece of land, Josephine was still pregnant. Spending time with her was always wonderful for me, she loves to be brushed and touched. I was anxious to meet her daughter Skippy today for the first time. She was born on Easter Sunday, so she is already getting big.
She is beautiful, isn’t she? A bit shy, it took some time for her to come close to me. Actually it was after everyone else had gone back to the house, while I was having a hug with Josephine before she allowed me to pet her. And check out that view!!! On top of the world where there is no anger, no fighting, only love of the land, growing organic food and the beauty of all that is here. It seems to me this is perfection.
While walking home I stopped to get some photos of this tree with the special flowers. I say special, because they remind me of fireworks, small bursts of light with purple edging – fantastic!!
I had to just stop on the road and absorb the beautiful feelings from a day spent in such a good way. Feeling comfortable with myself was the gift received as I stood there admiring the view. All you can do in a moment such as this is smile and say thank you, which I did. Lost in my thoughts, a beautiful piece of music playing and watching Mali enjoy herself, caused me to be very surprised when a man on a motorcycle pulled up beside me. His sudden appearance made me jump, then laugh and apologize for being in his way. He smiled back and offered me a ride on his bike which also took me by surprise. Coming from a country where you Do Not take rides from strangers, this offer made me pause for a few seconds. I almost made the choice to accept, but the truth was, I was enjoying the walk too much and was in no hurry to get home. In moments like this any spanish learnt goes out the window, so all I could manage was “No gracias” together with silly hand signals in an attempt to say I hadn’t far to go. He seemed to understand and started to drive away. He didn’t get far because with no goggles, he got some dust in his eye and needed to remove it. I caught up to him, asked if he was ok, then left when he said “Si”. He wanted to know if I was going to Apuela, to which I answered “no”. This made me think about the kindness of a stranger on a dusty road who understood walking here is not easy. Had I been going to Apuela, I believe I would have gone with him, he had beautiful energy, very gentle and kind. Once more I regretted my inability to speak to him because I believe I would have enjoyed the conversation.
As I continued on my way, I hoped my lack of acceptance was not an insult to his kind gesture. Maybe I should have said yes…….
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