Good Times with the Old Man

     For as long as I can remember, my dad has always loved the outdoors. He's up at 6 every morning and stays outside until late every day. He loves fishing, biking, hiking, canoeing, boating, and almost every other outdoor activity you can think of. He is also super knowledgable about wildlife and plants. I can ask him about any kind of bird, fish, tree, or flower, and he can tell me almost anything I want to know about it.
      I've always enjoyed spending time with my dad outside. I don't always do it as much as I should, and I kind of regret that. He has been asking me all summer to go canoeing or boating with him, so I asked him today if he wanted to go canoeing. He already had it hooked up to his truck because he went fishing this morning, so all I had to do was put on some old clothes and get ready to go.
      We took the canoe to a pond about 10 minutes from where we live. It's still in a rather urban area, but once you get out in the water, you don't even notice. There are lots of houses that line both sides of the pond, and we enjoy house-watching as we go along.
     I love canoeing with Dad because I can do as much or as little work as I want. He always sits in the back so that he can guide the canoe, so I can really just sit there if I want. Most of the time I choose to paddle along with him, and I was surprised to hear him say today that my paddling was getting better.
      We had quite an adventure today. We got to the line of trees at the back of the pond where my dad normally turns around, but we noticed a path heading back into the trees. We decided to follow it, and boy, were we both glad that we did! We got to see things that I'm sure not many people get to see.
      It's hard to describe the feeling of being out in the woods with no one else around. Once you are under the canopy of trees, the water and wind are completely calm, and all you can hear is the paddles breaking the surface of the water. It's an eerie and a relaxing feeling at the same time. Everything is so peaceful. You see wildlife that you wouldn't normally see. We saw a snake scoot across the water, numerous ducks take flight, and all kinds of creepy crawlers that I was fine with as long as they were outside the boat!
      When we weren't completely surrounded by trees, we could see people's back yards. Dad's comment was, "You couldn't find these houses with a search warrant!" There was this one dock and garden area with some of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen! The irises and hydrangeas were stunning! I found myself wishing I could live in one of these houses, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and in touch with nature. Most people have hammocks on their docks, and I could see myself sitting in one for hours, simply napping or reading a book.
      We followed the path to a bridge before we decided we should turn around. By the time we got back out of the woods and onto the open water, a storm cloud was coming up, and we decided we had had enough excitement for one day.
             As I get ready to head to Furman in the fall, I realize more and more in these simple moments that these are the things I'm going to miss. Canoeing with my dad. Asking him countless questions like, "What kind of bird is that?" or, "What made the marks on that tree?" And simply spending time with him, no matter what we're doing. So as I continue through this summer, I'm going to make an effort to seize these moments and to relish them. Because these are the moments that I will miss and that I will cherish forever.