We got the kids a kayak. Today was a long day; cajoling the kids to go on a hike to Taggart Lake, a glacier lake. We got home and after a bit of Legos (which serves as a consistent form of decompression, similar to how one might meditate, pour a glass of wine, or simply sit and rest after a long day), we took the kayak down to Jackson Lake where we have visited daily. We visited so frequently that we watched the small bays and eddies recede and become beach. We watched tadpoles grow legs and become frogs.
When Townes had his turn in the kayak, he wanted to go around the bend to the next beach, so I walked out to the point so I could keep eyes on him. He looked so tiny out on the water with that huge mountain range behind him. And if that wasn’t enough, two bald eagles took off from the lakeshore and soared over his head and out of sight. And being the birder that he has become, he saw the whole event from his solitude on the water. He eventually turned around to return, only with a huge smile across his face, big enough for me in spite of his tiny-ness on the water.
The Moore Air 
When I was a Pastor, there was a terminally ill elderly gentleman I visited that wanted to take a ride in the country. On our ride he pointed out a clump of vegetation near the top of a tree and identified it for me. It was mistletoe. I had not seen it growing before. Just then an eagle took flight from behind the tree and crossed our path of vision. A big smile came across his face as he exclaimed, “Look at that eagle go!” The excitement of encountering a wild eagle for the first time is awesome. And so it is for the last time.
Thank you for sharing Townes excitement and smile on his eagle encounter.
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