Appreciation of the Destination

Matt and I went out on the paddle boards and took Wil in the kayak. Wil was very proficient at paddling backwards, but didn’t quite catch on to paddling forward. Wil found himself deep in the lily pads— he got frustrated, so Matt went back to get a bungee out of the truck, and bungeed his paddle board to the kayak and towed Wil to the sandbar. We played and hung out in the water at the sandbar, then made our way back, Matt towing Wil.

A few more tries, and Wil will have kayaking figured out. But right now, without help, he’s stuck in the weeds.

It’s a great metaphor raising a child with a disability. A lot of people see our lives as being stuck in the weeds, as paddling backwards. But we enjoy the sandbar too, with a little help along the way.

And even better; when Wil learns how to paddle himself to the sandbar, people will wonder why we seem to be the happiest ones there. We will be because it’s not about the sandbar—It’s that we know not to take a single step, or directional paddle, for granted.