Reading the Signs

When things are hard or keep going wrong at what point do you stop and say probably wasn't meant to be and let it go, and at what point do you show perseverance? If you always push forward no matter what, when do you have time to read the signs, take a minute, and mark it up as a bad idea or bad timing or bad juju? When we took the boat out, for instance, and it wouldn't start (which might have something to do with the little monkeys who like to play in the boat while it sits in the garage.) should we have thrown the towel in then? Or (after jump-starting the boat in the harbor) how about when I was swinging around to pick Tyler and Max up for another run and saw Grey inexplicably paddling alongside the boat? ('But, I wanted to swim') How about when Nick leaned too far over the edge trying to fill his water-streamer gun and toppled in? No? Keep on keeping on? Endure to the end? When we left the radio on while the bilge was filling and the battery wasn't fully charged yet and had to be towed in to the harbor by some little twerp? Certainly then we should have wrapped things up and called it day. But no, the water was turning glassy and so were Tyler's eyes watching it. We jump started again and off we went into the sunset. To be fair, the last runs of the day were beautiful and mishap free. . . so was it a lesson in never giving up or should I have recognized a doomed day at the lake from the the first fruitless turn of the ignition? One way or another, boating always makes for good pictures and we had my 'little' brother, Josh, with us who left to fly back to work in Russia today. (We'll miss you Josh!)




Tyler and Nick



Greybug



Maxer



'Uncle' Josh



Grey and Max



Tyler boarding with Grey



Tyler boarding with Max



Tyler ignoring me while we're towed in. I said ' This reminds me of the first time I went skiing and had to get taken down the hill in a toboggan. I was so embarrassed'. Tyler answered 'You know what's different? No one was pointing a camera at you telling you to smile while it was happening'.



Max and Nick watching the tow boat



Last swim of the day