{"id":2386,"date":"2021-10-23T23:57:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-23T23:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/?p=2386"},"modified":"2021-10-26T14:52:02","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T14:52:02","slug":"watch-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/watch-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch This"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our fall break adventure was so lovely, but it was ending.\u00a0 Time to go home.\u00a0 There were so many memories packed into just a couple of sunny days\u2014a crackling campfire with sausages roasting, boat rides in a wind so vigorous that the lake\u2019s bristling whitecaps rocked us around, determining our course.\u00a0 In a few rounds of biking, I panted to catch up with Buddy and Sis and declined to waste breath responding when they hollered Come On! from the top of the hill. They taught me new games, their favorites, and it marked a new season when I had to accept defeat at the hands of a child born when I had already lived half a century.\u00a0 It was all enough to summon tears when closing time was already upon us, but there was nothing for it but to trudge to the car with the first load, dump it into the trunk, and petulantly slam the lid.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Returning to my room to fetch Load 2, I could have turned either way, one option toward the gravel driveway and main entrance of the lovely old wooden lodge, the other toward the outside steps, closer to the little lake whose grassy shore was just a few dozen steps downhill from the parking lot.\u00a0 Something told me to turn toward another view of the water, utterly quiet at this early hour, its flat surface undisturbed, even by fish or those who pursue them.\u00a0 It was a chance to drink in one more look, just for a moment.<\/p>\n

So, feeling blue about leaving and heading home?\u00a0 Something asked.\u00a0 Wishing it wasn\u2019t over so soon?\u00a0 Thinking you needed just a few more days\u2019 respite from these crazy, unpredictable times?\u00a0 Before you go, here\u2019s a parting gift, to help you remember an interlude when happy days broke through the clouds.\u00a0 Stand right there for a second, right where you are.\u00a0 Don\u2019t move, and Watch This.<\/p>\n

As I stood still, watching, the sun inched just high enough to launch the show.\u00a0 Out on the water a spectacular display of miniature fireworks erupted, scores and scores of tiny rockets of light bouncing off the surface in silent bursts, exploding and dancing as though choreographed, heralding the climb of the sun and the coming of the day.\u00a0 On and on it went, flash after burst after flash, as I watched in amazement.<\/p>\n

Instinctively (I regret to admit), I patted my pocket for my phone, imagining the satisfaction of a little video, a few seconds of recorded evidence to watch again later and remember.\u00a0 But the pocket was empty.\u00a0 What\u2019s this?\u00a0 Something asked.\u00a0 Left your phone in the room?\u00a0 You\u2019ll just have to take this gift with you the old-fashioned way.\u00a0 Stand here long enough to burn the image in memory. Watch with every sense and savor it, let it root and grow in your mind and heart, where you can take it anywhere you go, and you don\u2019t have to push a button or charge a battery to summon it later.\u00a0 Add it to that list of Signs That Appear When You Need Them Most. You\u2019re not keeping a list of those?\u00a0 Something asked, incredulous. Well, you can start one, today.<\/p>\n

Gradually, as the sun continued its morning ascent, the fireworks fizzled, transforming into twinkling flickers on the water, a carpet studded with alluring sequins for an early fall celebration.\u00a0 Finally, the flickers also vanished, merging into a powerful pool of light crossing the surface of the lake from one woody green shore to the other.<\/p>\n

I wish the kids had been here to see this, I said out loud, to no one, as I turned away from my solitary spot on the little green hillside.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry about the kids, Something answered, kindly.\u00a0 They\u2019ll have their own memories of the trip–you can count on that.\u00a0 This gift was for you, for this particular moment.\u00a0 Feeling better?\u00a0 I thought so.\u00a0 Time to hit the road.<\/p>\n

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Our fall break adventure was so lovely, but it was ending.\u00a0 Time to go home.\u00a0 There were so many memories packed into just a couple of sunny days\u2014a crackling campfire with sausages roasting, boat rides in a wind so vigorous that the lake\u2019s bristling whitecaps rocked us around, determining our course.\u00a0 In a few rounds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[211,210,212],"class_list":["post-2386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grandkids","category-mid-life-adventures","tag-biking","tag-fall-break","tag-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}