Armchair Pundits

A Perfect Moment

In keeping somewhat in step with a previous posting, I am compelled to write of the joys that come when life is lived in the margins as opposed to the center of the page.

The family & I stole away for awhile this past weekend. My mother is on vacation in Detriot Lakes, and we drove up to spend the weekend with her at the resort. It's a nice place, right on the water, and with the cooler lake breezes, it was quite a nice spot.

We met a nice, young family in the condo next door, and the kids enjoyed playing together. My children were intrigued by the mammoth fish (northern pike) the neighbors had caught, and of course this lead to the need to do a little fishing ourselves. Daddy, anticipating such a moment, was prepared with the requisite equipment.

And so, Saturday morning was spent sitting on the dock, basking in the sun-casting and reeling, not particularly mindful of whether or not we would actually catch anything. After some time, my children grew weary of fishing. My son, went off to play elsewhere, while my eldest daughter climbed up in my lap for a snuggle. She spent the better part of the next hour there, as we threw bread crumbs into the lake and enjoyed the view, as schools of perch jockied and tusseled for the doughy morsels.

It was a delightful moment, full of wonder and conversation. I hope she is able to remember this moment, and when she does, smile at the thought of her old dad, holding on to her for dear life; all-the-while knowing that moments like these fade to quickly into the seemingly important obscurities that comprise adulthood.

Of course it is necessary to live responsibly, to meet obligations, and all that. And of course, it is equally important to be present for the big stuff, what my friend Kathy would call the "mile-marker moments." This certainly is true, but I, for one, purpose to carve out more such moments of the margins, because when strung together, these make up the really important things in my life. In fact, these are probably the moments that matter most.

posted by Grisby @ 4:50 PM