This has been a week of waiting. Waiting with anticipation and a little anxiety for a baby to arrive; waiting for the threatened rain and more flooding after things had begun to subside; waiting for news of the Skipper’s mum who was taken by ambulance to hospital; waiting for a damp proof course to cure in a house that is costing much but earning zilch at the moment; and waiting for the Skipper’s latest cold to subside.
All out of our control.
The only thing we have been able to manage is loosening and tightening ropes as the river falls and rises to keep our home safe and afloat.
But amid all these apparently stressful times where we feel powerless to help directly, just hugely grateful that the Skipper’s brother is hugely efficiently on hand with Mum, we can appreciate that living afloat even on a river in flood has significant benefits.
Opening the curtains to beautiful sunrises and a closing them as spectacular sunsets fade. Watching the antics of geese and swans, ducks and moorhens on this stretch of the river is engaging. They also give us good indicators of how fast the flow of the Soar is at different times. Some Formula 1 ducks whizzed past earlier heading for the weir!
We all need these times of pause, times of mindful calm in our lives whatever situation we are in, but this week I have been particularly grateful for them.
There is little we can do but appreciate them, wait and help whenever we are needed. We can be grateful that we are moored somewhere we can see both of our daughters in the same week.
As flooding means we cannot move the boat to a water point to fill up our fresh water tabk, we can be grateful that the nearest daughter has lent a washing machine, a shower and a tap to fill water bottles this week. We are hugely grateful to have the car with us to enable us to drive rubbish and toilet cassettes to facilities points (don’t panic – the cassesstes are sealed for transit!) We are grateful too for unlimited water for flushing the loo (thanks to the overflowing river and garden watering can!).
As they say it doesn’t rain but it pours and we know about that! We also recognise how important a sound support system is. I’ve had some hospital tests this week and whilst I really don’t believe they will indicate anything amiss, there is appreciation that we are somewhere geographically where they could be done and in a country with a national health service. The fact that the Skipper’s mum was treated so quickly and effectively by the NHS this week was another reason for us to be grateful for the service and its staff. She will be 95 next month, so treating her rapidly and competently, enabling her to get back to her home within 24 hours was very important.
Whatever life throws at us, living afloat does have its challenges but those are significantly outweighed by the advantages. This week like so many boaters and non-boaters alike, we have been watching with astonishment the incredible rescue of the boats affected by the Llangollen Canal breach near Whitchurch. The Canal and River Trust staff and the contractors involved have managed a remarkable feat. Many YouTubers have been relaying their incredible achievement to the rest of us watching with bated breath.
We can but hope that all three boats will be returned to their families and be able to be refloated and we shall see them out again on the cut before long. Even with the possibility of such dramatic and horrendous accidents happening, living afloat has to be one of more rewards than drawbacks, more delight than drama to balance the inevitable sagas of life.
Plus all around us are the signs that things are getting better, that Spring is round the corner. Regular reminders of positivity, something we all need, wherever and however we live.
Pickingupducks 