One thing I remember while in the required classes to get my real estate license is the stern warning that real estate could be so involved it could take you away from your family. All summer long I have been promising my daughter that I would take her canoeing on the beautiful Sac River in Missouri. We made this trip last year and had a blast and that was one thing she wanted to do again!
So, I cleared my schedule, and we drove up to Caplinger Mills in Cedar County MIssouri on a Friday Morning. As we were driving and having our Father/ Daughter conversations, we noticed some thunderstorms in the area we were traveling. I was not liking the thought of getting out on the river with lighting, but I was excited about the rain since it has been so dry here.
As it stands, the thunderstorms moved through and we were able to get our canoe. My daughter who is 13, going on 14, was very excited and was an absolute chatter box. She helped me drag the canoe to the water front. I put in our water, our back pack with a dry towel, and our lunch. Carefully placed the cell phone, camera, car keys, and watch into a zip lock bag inside the backpack. Then we shoved off, and got stuck on rocks because the water was not deep enough where we had to put our canoe into the watrer.
So we struggled, got out of the canoe and pushed it to an area that had water and a strong current. There were a number of big rocks we kept getting stuck on. I got the canoe free, the current took the canoe, and we were going down the river backwards! I hope no one got video of this for youtube! So, I thought that I would back peddle to turn the canoe around before we went through the area that got us to water high enough to float. Even best made plans and ideas do not work sometimes. I got the canoe half way turned around and cross ways in the current which is a big no no in the art of canoeing! Well, then it happened! Our canoe was taken under the water, we were flipped out of the canoe into the water and on to the rocks. Once the canoe went through the rapids, it was upright and full of water, our gear was still in place in the canoe, and our canoe was floating down river. I quickly looked to see that my daughter was ok, and I went chasing our canoe with my paddle in my hand! I finally got the canoe and brought it to shore. We got all the water out of the canoe and our gear, so much for the dry towel! Thank God for the zip lock bags because our lunch was still good, our electronics were good too. We once again pushed off down the river for our adventure that did not start out too well in the beginning!
An interesting fact about the Sac and Osage Rivers in Missouri is they flow to the north and finally dump into the Missouri River. Our adventure was a five mile trip through water that was not so deep to water that was at least six feet deep. It was absolutely beautiful, quiet, and so neat to see the river without all the activities it attracts on the weekends. We saw a number of big fish swimming in the river as we floated northward to our desitnation. The best thing about our whole adventure was the time that my daughter and I spent with each other. We stopped occassionally to play and swim in the river, to explore the shore line, and to feed the little fish some bread. All in all the whole trip was worth it including the brusies we received at the very beginning of our float trip.
What did I learn on this canoe trip? First and formost we can never nelgect the ones that we love. We need to remember in the hectic world of real estate that we must smell the roses once in a while. My daughter and I bonded even closer than we already were Friday. We even decided that we would make this an annual outing for us! It will be a trip that both of us will always remember in our hearts.
The second thing I learned is never second guess your gut instinct. When we started to go backwards through the rapid, it was my gut instinct to go through back wards and then in the calmer waters, turn the canoe around! I learned this lesson the hard way.
The last thing I learned on this trip is that God has given us a beautiful world to enjoy His creation. I have been down this river before, but never had I seen so much like I did this past Friday! It was so neat to have the ipods, and phones turned off and just listen to crickets, and the silence of the wilderness.
On more thing...My daughter even told me that I was right about something I had told her earlier!! I hope she remembers that her dad does know some things about this world we live in!
Get out and enjoy your families, your kids, because they grow up way too fast! Thank God daily for all He has given you!
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