The Swans

Sunday afternoon, four of our five kids left for summer camp. My wife and I were looking forward to a quieter week with just the youngest child at home. Then yesterday, my parents asked if they could come to get the youngest child for the night. A night without any kids? Yes, please! And what a wonderful night it turned out to be.

My wife and I decided to go out to eat, and to try somewhere we had never been. We settled on Fuzzy's Taco Shop, where we both ate more than we needed to. Because our bellies were overstuffed I suggested that we go on a quick walk. Since the taco shop is right across the street from a small pond on the university in our town, we decided to take a stroll around it.

As we began our walk, we noticed that one of the two swans that make the pond their home was on the shoreline, playing in the water in front of it. Since it was close to a bench, we decided to take a seat and watch it. After a few minutes, it gracefully pushed itself into the water, met up with its partner, and swam to the opposite side of the pond. We arose and continued our walk to the opposite side of the pond where we sat on another bench to observe the swans bobbing for food in the water. After a decent amount of time, they slowly made their way back to the original spot we had been and began cleaning themselves. Once again, we walked back around the pond, sat on our original bench, and continued to watch them.

Our time at the lake was only an hour, but during that time we didn't talk about anything other than what the swans were doing or the occasional fish we saw jump to catch a bug - and it was wonderful! It wasn't that we didn't have anything else to talk about: we have five kids - all of which will be in school this year, my wife is going back to work for the first time in almost a decade and a half, and my dad is starting his fight against cancer.

We had plenty of things we could have talked about - and plenty of things which can overwhelm us. We could have talked about our hopes, dreams, and concerns in all of those topics. We could have reminded each other of the things we are grateful for. Instead, we chose to sit there in the moment. We decided to be present with each other, the pond, and the swans and just enjoy it all.

The quiet. The creation. Each other. All things we fail to truly see in the hustle and bustle of our lives. I can't remember the last time I felt so full spiritually by just sitting in the present moment and just soaking it in. My wife and I both agreed that it was a beautiful moment we wanted to create in the future. It was a wonderful reminder of the joy and love to be found if I choose to just slow down and be present in the moment!

All this because we stopped to watch a couple of swans on a calm pond.