Fish Gotta Swim, BIrds Gotta Fly, and I Need to Just Sit By and Watch

The Wild Adventures of Roaming Hamsters...

Today I got sea sick. Kayaking. And now I envy birds.  I’ll tell you all about my bird envy in a bit.  I forgot that I tend to get a bit motion sick in all sorts of situations.  Cars--yeah, hasn’t everyone?  Planes--I’ve actually used the little white bags in the back of plane seats more than once and so motion sickness pills are staple in my wallet.  And now...Kayaks.

The morning started out very calm.  The light filtered through the blinds and when they were opened they revealed a beautiful sunny day with a very light breeze.  It was a perfect day for a paddle around the little islands just off the coast here. 

Christian was very excited and I was, too.  I remembered when my friend Dezi and I kayaked around Lake Powell a few summers ago and we had a great time.  But, that was on a lake and not the moving, rolling ocean.  But, I wasn’t worried.

We put in and I sat down in the kayak and I bobbed up and down and I got the “feeling.”  You know…it’s that feeling you get when your stomach does a flip flop and not in a good “Wow, look at that BMW Adventure motorcycle!” way.  But I ignored it and we set out. 

The morning only got more beautiful.  We were the only ones on the water and the color of the ocean was a multitude of mesmerizing blues, teals and turquoise.  The water rippled gently and if I were a baby it probably would’ve rocked me to sleep. 

It was completely quiet and all we could hear was the surf lapping along the beach and an occasional ripple of a wave.  Even the birds were quiet.  It was amazing.  We paddled along and slowly made our way to the little islands.  We didn’t say much and I enjoyed the quiet, peaceful morning.

I noticed as we were skimming along that when I stopped and floated, my stomach did a little flip.  It wasn’t anything too big but it was enough to make me not want to stop moving.  Looking at the water moving didn’t help either and what made it worse was looking at Christian sitting and bobbing.  We got closer to rounding the first island and I felt it: the first feeling of a gag.  I stopped myself and tried to ignore it but it didn’t work.  I looked around and saw how far away a little rocky shore was and Christian said we could try and land there.  By this time Christian was aware of my situation and was also looking to get somewhere I could land and recover but it was too late.   I said, “I’m turning around.” And I did.

I knew I was missing a great day of exploring but I also knew if I stayed it would be miserable and all I would remember was the sick feeling I couldn’t get rid of which would overshadow the beauty of my surroundings.

The paddle back was not fun.  I finally made it and we beached at the closest beach and dragged the kayaks back to the house.  I felt I was a slight shade of green.  Not a forest green, not a hunter green, more of an olive green to go with my olive complexion. 

The rest of the morning was a bit of a blur.  I woke up after a short nap feeling much better and sat out on the deck looking at the water.  It was then that I noticed the birds.

There were pelicans and seagulls on the beach, in the water and in the air.  I saw a hawk cruising by at top speed and this is where my envy started.  They weren’t getting sick!  They were bobbing up and down on top of the water, up and down, uupp and dddown and nothing.  They loved it!  I saw the birds in the air diving and climbing, twisting and gliding; things that would’ve made me do more than turn a slight shade of green.  It wasn’t fair. 

They get to do it all without a second thought.  None of that bothers them, they take it all for granted and here I am, beached and grounded because I can’t take the motion sickness. 

Dumb birds.