Monday, April 17, 2023
The River
In our boat, here we are, at the end.
The mighty river that we've charted for so long is now in its vestiges. The remanence of what it was slowly drains away into the ocean.
We sit in our boat and look out onto the vast ocean, wondering what's next. We remember the journey.
A lifetime ago the trip began, we entered the river when it was just a creek in the mountains.
Along the rivers path...
Some days there was pure serenity, the waters surface indistinguishable from the purest glass. The boat's wake leaving barely a ripple.
Same days the water was turbulent, muddy, unclear.
Some days there were rapids and waterfalls.
Some days the river was impassible, so we portaged but always back towards the River.
Despite it all, we endured, always moving, always forward.
The River carried us for so many years. So long in fact that many barely recall the beginning anymore.
It fed us, nourished us. Our bodies and soul grew from what the River provided.
We learned from it. It too, from us.
It was our friend, a confidant, a teacher, a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a cousin, a wife, a survivor, a daughter, a chicken noodle soup maker.
The River's course meandered over the years, never a straight line. Leaving permanent impressions wherever it ventured. At times there we are also others who joined us in the River, on their own boats.
We all knew though from the moment we started this journey, that some day it would come to and end, as all rivers do. All Rivers eventually drain into the ocean.
In our boat, here we are, at the end.
Forward we must go, as that is what the River taught us. Our journey must continue.
So, we do. Sad we are to say goodbye to the River. We have journeyed together for so many years.
We travel outwards to the vast ocean, our minds awash with the River and journey behind us.
There is a gentle tapping against the boat, the Ocean gentling lapping against its sides.
We peer over the edge of the boat to see.
Our reflection is there, but also something more.
The River is there too, looking back at us. It did not disappear. It just became a part of something more.
All that the River was, flowed into the Ocean.
So forward we go. The River still gently pushing us onward.
Thank you for everything Oma. We are sad to see you go, but you are always with us wherever our journey takes us.
