River [Adventure]

[Adventure 202]

It's one of our favorite things to do when we're in New Hampshire - tubing down the Saco river. 

We cancelled our tubing adventure the first week due to low water levels, but after a bunch of rain, there was a near Summer-normal level of water in the river. 

 

We lazed down the river, first in couples, and then all of us around our cooler float. 

We acquired "Gandalf staffs" to help us maneuver around obstacles and speed our journey a bit in the slower parts.

Approaching the covered bridge, on the other side of which was the place our journey ended, we separated from each other back into couples, and navigated our way through the rocks and mini rapids. 

For me, it was a quite enjoyable and relaxing adventure. During the slow part of the river immediately before the final stretch, the young adults were getting restless and I was getting frustrated. It seems that the mama in me can't let go of making sure everyone is happy and having a good time and feeling badly when people are cold and hungry and wanting to be at the end already. The snacks and beverages this mama packed just in case weren't sufficient to meet their needs for our four hour adventure and somehow the other adults in the group (as in, everyone else) didn't hear me tell them (several times) to pack snacks and drinks, as we wouldn't be eating another meal until late afternoon. 

That made me think about how life has transformed me from how I was at that age to now. I probably would have complained about the cold and the hunger and the time. I most likely would have assumed the more grown-up grown-ups would bring extra food just in case. Back then I would have gotten frustrated at the "extra time" - the time beyond what I expected - it was taking. 

But now, I have an appreciation for additional downtime, for a longer journey, for the inconvenience of feeling a little cold and hungry and looking forward to how good warmth and food are going to feel and taste. And perhaps now I need to learn to let go of the frustration of young people who don't listen to my sage advice and don't plan ahead...and just go with the flow instead.