What It Takes

What it takes to get me on the water? Not much. Not much at all. I live a few hundred steps from the high tide line of the nearest beach. One of my kayaks is an inflatable that weighs about twenty-five pounds when loaded with safety gear and paddle. And yeah, anyone who can say "one of my kayaks" has a lot of ways and reasons for getting on the water. The weather is generally good enough around here that even in winter I can get out in a kayak two or three times a week, at various times of day to boot.
What it takes to keep me off the water? A lot more.
Going to grad school full-time didn't do it -- I was getting out in a boat two or three times a week till recently. Having a bad cold or 'flu has done it in the past, for three weeks at a time, but so far this year I've dodged that bullet. Having a book or two to write as well as my assignments didn't do it.
I'm not happy to report that we now know what it takes to keep me off the water. It's an hour-long commute to the hospital to see my dad, some time spent visiting him, and the hour-long commute back. In the Neuro ward where my dad is recovering from a couple of strokes, I am The Cheerful Visitor as opposed to my mom who chivvies him to exercise and practise talking, or instead of Bernie or my brother who are The Guys Who Visit.
My kayaking is down to once a week. And yeah, I know that's all that most people with full-time jobs can do cuz they don't live at the beach. Instead of doing another lap on my outdoor treadmill (four klicks to Flower Island and back in an hour -- that's Freya's pace, y'know... tho she does it crossing the Gulf of Carpenteria in a sea kayak and I do it noodling along a rocky shore in a rec playboat) I'm doing all my reading on the bus. And knitting. Made ten pairs of fingerless mitts in the last six weeks. Whoopie ding dong.
Next week I'm going up to Cowichan Bay with Bernie and a kayak or two. Shall come back at the end of the day with new stories to tell my dad as The Cheerful Visitor, who chatters about kayaking and studying and what's in the news. Bring it on!