Raindrops.

The weather was nasty and cold. It had been raining all day. The last full day we would be at camp. The camp I had looked forward to all summer to relieve the stress that comes from the monotony of housework. I was really disappointed I didn’t get the time to fish that I had looked forward to that day. I love fishing. I don’t care if I eat them. I usually put them back but this was really getting to me that I was beside the water with a canoe, family, rods, and it was raining.

We had finished dinner. Our friends had left earlier that evening and it was dusk. With the rain it positively grey. I looked at my husband with a twinkle and said, “Let’s bundle up and go out anyway.”

We didn’t have to take the canoe to the big lake there was a small river running next to it. So we did. And am I ever glad that we did. As we skimmed the water’s surface drenched through and through I contemplated the beauty around me. My husband sitting in the stern of the canoe answered questions my kids had about the double rainbow that appeared in the sky. Why did we see only some colors instead of many. Why was it double. Why can’t we slide down a rainbow.

We turned the canoe halfway down the river. The fish weren’t biting much. I had only caught a small pike and a lot of weeds. It seems our lakes are being overrun with weeds. Then swiftly from a tree top next to the river a large bird swooped out of where it had been perched. Catching only a glimpse we all guessed at what it may have been. It appeared to be bigger then a hawk, maybe an owl. While still in the midst of our debating it reappeared to clear up the argument. A bald eagle swished gracefully above us and out of sight on the opposite river bank.

Feeling contented that nature had provided us with all we needed for the day. And feeling rather like a boatload of drowning rats we turned and headed back for the dock. The raindrops bounced off of the surface of the water. If had not been so wet I would have captured that moment with the camera. Perfection could not describe the beauty as we wound our way up the lazy little river that was lined with white and yellow water lilies. Silence and raindrops. And to complete my feeling of perfection I heard a small child chime in ‘this is the perfect day.’ It didn’t matter that we were all wet. It didn’t matter we were cold or that it was raining. It mattered that we were together enjoying nature as a family.