06.15.14  Day three of heavy rain and record low temperatures.  I’ve been feeling that summer will never ever get here this year.  And, then, I look out the window and see a sailboat skimming over the waves, heading south, against the wind.  Windward, I believe it’s called, as they angle the sail to catch the wind and are propelled forward.  I understand the power of wind at my back, but this always amazes to me to watch a sailboat move steadily against the wind and water.  And, it gives me hope for all manner of adversity, including the long wait for warm weather.

I have a collection of toy and model sailboats which I position on the fireplace mantel each summer.  (I’m waiting until the Summer Solstice this year because I’m trying to be patient.)  One of my sons-in-law teases me about being part of a great sailing family–none of us sails.  But, I love lining them up on the mantel, arranging them by color and size, and making sure everyone is going in the same direction, usually against the wind coming out of the south.  One of the boats is really tall and always anchors the southern edge of the mantel.  I bought it 12 years ago from a pond yacht website and it’s designed to actually be sea-worthy.  One year, when there was heavy smoke in the air from wild fires, I took it out for a sail on the lake during a golden/reddish sunset.  It was so tiny on the gigantic lake, but it looked brave and majestic through the viewfinder on my camera.

There’s a Laura Viers song, “Make Something Good”, which always makes me a bit weepy.   The last stanza goes:

I wanted to make something built to last/A bottled ship with a golden mast/And through the squall the course stays true/Make something good/Make something good

A noble undertaking, me thinks.  The little sailboats on the mantle help me to remember to stay on course.