Don’t forget you love to swim

When I finished up at Click Away (more on that later), Chris and I headed to Great Salt Lake.

The air grew crisp and it was so incredibly quiet. Throughout the course of our trip we commented on the quietness of Salt Lake City in general. It wasn’t until we arrived at the lake that we realized it may not be the city at all that seemed so quiet, but the reality that 5 full of life kids were not with us. Either way, we missed our kids but relished in the calm and tranquil. We walked out in the waters. We felt the sand under our feet. We embraced the quiet and the beauty. I could feel the weight of 5 long, stressful weeks lift. I held my camera in my hands and saw beauty again. I felt alive. Inspired. Refreshed. In awe. Captivated. Time with Chris in the calm waters was a gift I didn’t realize how much I needed. How much I had been aching for it.

I tried a few times to get a picture of us with my timer. I propped my camera on my bag on top of his shoes. I’d set the timer and try to run out in the water to him. In this shot, I was convinced I didn’t get there fast enough and laughed at how we couldn’t get a timer shot. Then I heard the shutter. It is my favorite because it is candid and is so us.I’ve never experienced water so calm. Never. It was like glass for as far as my eyes could see…until we stepped in and caused ripples. The serenity stood starkly against the crashing waves of the ocean I’ve played in countless times. The quietness demanded attention in a way different from the thundering of towering waves hitting sandy beaches. It reminded me so much of my life. The calm waters are so far and few between. Life seems to be more marked with waves, whether small or crashing. Not all waves are bad, in fact most waves are glorious and fun. They are just different from calm waters. Experiencing waves of all sorts seems to be necessary for me to truly be able to breathe in the calm waters.  Coming out of a period of treading water and trying to stay above the waves made me stop and rest in a new way in the calm waters. I read this quote by Tyler Knott Gregson and it resonated with me during this season of life marked more by noise and waves than quiet and calm waters.

“Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves that you forget, truly forget, how much you have always loved to swim.”

I’ve always loved to swim. I’ve always loved the water – calm and the waves.