Boating

I spent last weekend with old, dear friends from college. All of these women knew Todd and me as a couple…at least one of them knew Todd before we were a couple. They have known us through the ups and downs of first jobs, marriage and parenthood. They have seen me at my best and at my worst…and, thankfully, they love me in spite of all that. I have no doubt they are in for more of the same during the next 30 years.

We met at a lake house in Alabama. The friend who had arranged for the lake house brought her boat and parked it at the dock. We packed our coolers with food and drink and headed out onto the lake both Friday and Saturday. Friday was relatively calm…no need to use the anchor. She just parked the boat and some of us swam and some of us read…and we all ate, of course. The next day the water was a bit rough, so we anchored the boat before we got off to swim…again some of us in the water and some napping or reading on the boat…but all eating ;-) When it came time to leave, the water was more choppy and a storm was brewing. She went to retrieve the anchor…and it was stuck on the bottom. We (really there were only 2 who had a clue about boats…the other 3 just tried to stay out of the way and not cause trouble ;-) tried several tactics, but the storm was pushing closer and the anchor wasn't budging. We were getting a little anxious as we watched the dark clouds roll in. We also knew that people sometimes lose their boat (and even their lives) trying to retrieve an anchor that's gotten stuck. The decision was made to cut the rope…oops, no knife…untie the rope from the boat and leave the anchor behind. By the time we got back to the dock at our lake house the water had white caps and the driver had to really maneuver to get the boat docked…but she did an awesome job.

I share this because I got the coolest email from my friend, the boat owner/driver, to all of us other (non-boating) gals when we got home. Here is a quote that I really thought was awesome.

"What I learned is never try to save the anchor and lose the boat in the process. We need to apply that to life. We have to let go of the things that are holding us back and especially when a storm is approaching. "

Maybe it was because I was there that this rings so true and the picture it paints for me is so vibrant. We shared some important stories about our lives this weekend…things that really matter to us… and this quote was so fitting in response to all that.

My friend went out on the lake Sunday afternoon with her family (after we had all headed back to our homes). Her family teased her about the missing anchor. I just thought this was funny so I am quoting her email again as I close.

"I did have to endure all of them saying 'Let's anchor here - oh wait we can't do that. We don't have one.' "

But we didn't lose the boat!