The Perfect Simplicity of Riding the River on a Hot Summer Day

Thanks for the TIPS!The summer is winding down, but the days are still hot. Yesterday, I managed to convince my family to go on my favorite activity, which is a trip down the river. The girls have gotten so big, they can no longer ride with me on one paddle board or with my wife on another. Instead, we're up to three boards with the girls going tandem.I have one more paddle board waiting for the last growth spurt. Can it be the last already?It's always an ordeal to get ready for a trip like this. You drop off one car at the finish and one at the start. You have to think of things like whether or not you should bring your cell phone because, basically, anything you take on the water is something that you're likely to lose. But there's also the question or the concern of safety in case something should go wrong.“What if we slip and brake our leg?”“What if we're attacked by an eagle?”“What if the paddle boards deflate?”All those possibilities should be seen as adventures! Wrestling with the unexpected is why you go on trips like this. It wrests you away from doom scrolling and puts your brain in survival mode. It's good to do that for 10 minutes a day at least.Otherwise you get soft.Whenever I take my girls out on the river, I insist that everyone wear a life jacket because the current is strong. Learning respect for nature is one of those things that helps ensure that a fun activity doesn't go terribly wrong.People need to learn to have a little respect. That's largely missing from our country today. Water is kind, but if you mess around with the power of a river you'll find out how truly weak you are.You make better decisions when you don't get too full of yourself.We dropped off my car and went to the drive through across from the landing. I had a coupon for a ton of hamburgers. It's a delight to float on the river while eating French fries.At the landing, the water was low. My wife got caught caught up on some rocks, and it took her a while to get free, but we made it. First crisis averted.Then we got into the ride, frequently diving off of our paddle boards just to keep cool. The water is warm from having been heated by the sun all summer. Soon it will cool, but we have a couple weeks of river trips left to go.We crossed under the bridge and noticed a large beach volleyball caught up in the wind and spinning next to the shore. The wind was against us that day.The girls squealed. Naturally, the beach ball became the focus of their attention. It was colorful and out of place bouncing against the rocks.We paddled over and tried to move the ball along with us. “Paddle board soccer!” I said. The wind wasn't helping.Only then did we notice a large conglomeration of tubes up ahead. It was a pack of college kids taking advantage of a day to float and play before the classes begin. We heard a commotion as we drew near to the ball because voices carry over water.“I think that's theirs,” my wife said.A gust of wind stirred up then to show what must have happened. The ball was light enough that the breeze could take it upstream. A tube goes in only one direction.Well, that gave us an objective because a day on the river is a day of fun. My two girls sharing a board were the most well-equipped to handle the ball. My eldest paddled why my youngest held it aloft.Then I got to observe something that's fun to watch. I trailed behind as my daughters approached. My kids are in middle school and high school, and one thing that hasn't changed is how young people regard older kids with awe.They had big smiles on their faces as my daughter paddled along, holding up their trophy in the form of a beach ball.The group of tipsy college kids cheered in their lovely intoxicated euphoria. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” they said again and again. My youngest turned over the ball. The college kids held it, then released it to clap, and the wind instantly sent the ball upriver again.Luckily I was there, so I turned my board to stop the ball's progress.My wife, recognizing what was about to happen, paddled off.Now it was my turn to come forward with the ball. “Thank you, thank you,” they laughed. For some reason they came out swimming to meet me when it would have been easier to just wait for my arrival. But they weren't thinking clearly. They were trying to be helpful, and they were doing the opposite.I thought of the Lotus eaters, and how easy it is to get trapped within the sphere of influence of people who aren't thinking things through.Again, I handed them the ball. They smiled. They released, and the ball went away.“I'll do it one more time,” I said resigned. This time when I approached, they hit me with a new trick.“Take our picture, take our picture!”I didn't want to be responsible for dropping their cell phone in the river. But I managed to turn over the ball and get a picture. I handed back the camera and didn't release until I was sure the girl had a grip. Then I turned away and paddled hard and didn't look back. As I approached my daughters, they laughed and said, “Daddy, they lost the ball again.”But it was time to move on.We went around the bend, to the place where the eagle used to live. The current took us farther down, and a gigantic fish jumped up with a fin so big my wife called it a shark.The wind picked up and got into our face, so we had to hug the shore. Progress was slow but we made it home. We put the paddle boards back into our car. Back in the real world, the worrying begins. You're always afraid you'll find your vehicle with broken windows, but both were fortunately unmolested.On the way home I relaxed. I like days like this. They don't cost anything except for the fast food and the gas. You take your time and you relax.These are the moments I remember. The unexpected adventures between the fish and the beach ball and the reactions of the kids. I turned to my girls and asked, “Well, which do you prefer, the water park or a river trip like this?”“Water park!” they chimed together in chorus.But many years from now, I'll be curious to see whether they have more fond memories from the slides, or from riding down the river with me.You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI'm so happy you're here, and I'm looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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