By Charles P. Eberson
Senior Moments
If anyone is paying attention to this life, they will recognize there are stages, cycles or passages this journey takes us through. The more years behind us, the more in retrospect, we recognize the paths we have traveled. Sometimes, these paths have been a flat, smooth terrain through a bucolic landscape of plush forestry. Other times, a challenging soul crushing slog through the muck and mire of adversity. Either way, if one hits the pause button and takes a moment to reflect, these cycles will often bubble to the surface. This happened to me recently.
I have been a member of our local rowing club for decades and it has been more than an athletic experience. There have been friendships and bonds that have grown deeper over the years, some of which have been through the crucible of training and racing as well as through physical and mental suffering.
A few weeks ago, I attended a memorial at our rowing club for one of our fallen oarsmen who I have known for over forty years although not as well as I would have liked. There was an assembly of people of all ages who attended in observance of the occasion. Speeches were given, personal experiences were shared, and glasses were raised in a toast. Socializing with food, drink and music followed.
Recently the rowing club was the venue for a wedding. Sitting on the edge of a lagoon in the afternoon sun with a brisk ocean breeze keeping everyone cool and the bugs away, it was a perfect setting for a memorable day. My wife and I watched as the young couple recited their pledge to share a life and everything those fifty years or more may bring. A short speech was given by the presiding official, personal experiences were shared by the Best Man and the Maid of Honor and glasses were raised in a toast and again, socializing with food, drink and music followed.
In the span of three weeks, the same site held two different celebrations; one of a life well lived albeit too short and another of two young lives full of love and promise. It is a continuous and never-ending cycle of life but it was a rare occurrence to witness such a poignant example at the same venue, timed so closely together.
When I walk into the boathouse now, something has changed. I don’t see it now as just a warehouse for boats but also as a chapel that can stand in for some of life’s significant events. There are the memories of rowers who have passed, for sure. But now we also have a memory of two young people just starting out. We have all passed through some stages and are going to pass through more. Make your passages joyous ones. Your boathouse is waiting.
Charles Eberson has been in the newspaper business for over 25 years. He has worked as a writer, advertising executive, circulation manager and photographer. His photography can be viewed at charles-eberson.fineartamerica.com
