Just Keep Swimming....

Just Keep Swimming is what my lovely friend Kim says to me when she knows things are a bit rough.  ...and it helps in a number of ways.

Figuratively of course, it means to keep going, one breath at a time. 

.....and then .... DORY! 
Who doesn't smile when they think of her?

But there is a far more literal comfort I take from that phrase too....

My facebook friends know that I love to swim.
It has become a private joke which is probably only funny to me that I update my status with some cheesy line about loving to swim at least a few times each summer.

Not in public swimming pools where my propensity to suddenly flip over and just float whilst gazing up into the sky seems to irritate the other swimmers. 
Sometimes at the beach when the weather and water are perfect, but an allergy to sunscreen usually curtails such swims. 
But always in our friend's shady pool which they graciously let us use any time while they are away on holidays.
...and currently, they are away on holidays.

I am not a strong swimmer. 
I am also not a fast swimmer. 
But I can swim (at a slow pace) for hours. 
Just stroke after stroke, up and down the pool. 
Aware of each breath.


Peaceful.
Quiet.
Floating.
Happy.
Calm.


So as you wake into the new year, my wish for you all is that you are able to Just Keep Swimming through all the rough patches you encounter in 2013 ....  whether you have been grieving for days or years.  My wish is that you will find a spot of calm when needed ... and joy wherever you can find it ( if its a struggle, ask yourself  'What Would Dory Say?').

Just Keep Swimming  ......

It's gonna be alright

It is school holidays here and to get ourselves out of the house, we've been frequenting the local mangrove wetlands to sit and watch the birds.  There's a safe - yet - quiet walking path to an elevated shelter shed where you can sit and look over a large lagoon full of migratory birds.  Some with chicks, some loud and cranky, some funny.
It is a very peaceful spot and the bird life, along with a couple of pairs of cheap binoculars has kept us entertained on quite a few afternoons.

After walking around the lagoon and onto the nearby boardwalk one afternoon, the kids and I sat in the late afternoon sunlight and gazed down to the lagoon, teeming with birds and not another human being in sight.

Peacefully.

 Quietly.

 ...and just as I was thinking that Greg would have loved this place had we known it existed, and wishing he was there to share the experience, almost feeling his hand on my shoulder as we stared off towards the sparkling water when my darling daughter put her head on my shoulder and whispered ...

"It's going to be alright Mum.  I promise.  It's going to be alright"

...and I held her while silent tears slipped down my cheeks.

...and I knew Greg was there with us.

....and I just know I'll return to this magical place, week after week.  
Just to sit and stare at the water and feel like he is really with us.
Just for a while.