{"id":135257805,"date":"2023-07-19T12:31:06","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T12:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=135257805"},"modified":"2023-07-19T12:31:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T12:31:06","slug":"on-kayaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=135257805","title":{"rendered":"On Kayaking"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I grew used to the water in stages and then fell in love with it…” – Julia Armfield, ‘Our Wives Under The Sea’<\/h2>

Honestly incredible, the restraint I\u2019ve shown by not<\/em> writing this until now. <\/p>

I grew up a river monster. Behind my parents\u2019 house, there\u2019s some woods, then a river. Behind all my friends\u2019 houses was a creek, it\u2019s not like the problem was contained at home. I was rarely not soaked, sediment and grass sticking to my leg hairs. \u201cGoing to play in the river,\u201d I\u2019d say to my mom before disappearing into the woods. <\/p>

\"File:Scary<\/figure>

I grew up playing sports\u2014I am not a writer who had notebooks full of adventures as a kid, I am a writer because I did not grow to 6\u20196\u201d. I started on soccer and baseball, my dad played a lot of tennis, we were always throwing a football around. But basketball? You can play basketball by yourself. Even if your dad\u2019s at work and your friends can\u2019t hang and your brother\u2019s more into violin, you can shoot hoops.<\/p>

\"File:Autumn<\/figure>

It\u2019s lucky, growing up on a river. Murfreesboro\u2014somehow, despite all the Republicans there\u2014has made great public use out of the Stones River. There\u2019s a 10(?)-mile long walk\/bike path, The Greenway, and it\u2019s got public playgrounds and parks and fishing docks lining it. One time, my parents were out running when they saw four human heads bobbing in the river water, covered in mud and river grass. Turns out, it was just their kid and his friends, playing \u201criver monster.\u201d<\/p>

\"cosplay<\/figure>

Is the fourth paragraph a good time to say I don\u2019t think I\u2019m all that great at kayaking? That river was only more than four feet deep after it rained, and now I almost exclusively kayak in the shallows of Lake Michigan. Well, I didn\u2019t make my middle school basketball team, either. Being good is hardly the point. Most of life would be embarrassing if you honestly<\/em> cared about being really good<\/em> at everything you do. <\/p>

\"File:Kayaking<\/figure>

The meditative aspect of shooting hoops alone\u2014how would I do in the 3-point contest? Can I hit 10 straight free throws? Michael Jordan just passed me the ball with five seconds left in regulation, will I win the championship?\u2014feels akin to what my brain\u2019s doing in the kayak. My arms are working, heart\u2019s pumping, I\u2019m setting mini goals for myself. Whatever the weather is doing\u2014hot and humid, windy, clear as a polished window\u2014I\u2019m totally connected to the environment. No sound, or at least every sound feels far. At some point, I slip outside of time. <\/p>

\"keanu<\/figure>

Sorry you got an email, <\/p>

Chris<\/p>

Thanks for reading shipwrecked sailor! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.<\/p><\/div>

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