Abide
Life retains its shape,
awaiting that moment — to
Spring back to its prime.
Do you ever feel like waiting out the tail end of Winter is like watching paint dry? We have our day-to-day activities to keep us busy, and yet in those disparate, lengthy, silent moments in between – those moments when we find ourselves thinking, ‘but it’s too cold out’ – the season seems to stretch out behind us like taffy, pulled by an invisible arm swinging away into the infinite darkness of space.
So cold, yet so elastic.
Defying the laws of physics.
Throwing our senses into confusion.
Helping us appreciate the wealth of community that makes survival in these conditions possible;
and yes, a watched pot will boil . . .
eventually.
Never say ‘never’.
Go live your adventure.
Rob's Surf Report 
Supposedly the winter is the best season for surfing at Lake Eerie in Cleveland.
I can’t imagine how cold that would be – in Northern California they’re wearing wetsuits in water that measures under 60°F, so how cold is Erie in winter, I wonder?
Okay, I just googled it. It appears I grew up closer to surf than I am now. I always joked about surfing Lake Michigan or the Detroit River, but never realized about Erie.
And yes, it’s cold!
It saying at Edgewater today it’s 40 degrees. I’ve only gone surfing a few times traveling and with my cousin in South Carolina and I absolutely loved it. I wanna get a longboard and be able to travel with it. I’ve been thinking of a two week trip to a surf camp somewhere in the world. I might even just buy a board outta state and travel with it back to Ohio. Search Eerie or Great Lakes surfing on YouTube. You will find some gnarly videos
Oh I plan to, I’m very interested in this. I didn’t realize there was lake surfing at all that wasn’t SUP.
It basically looks like Winter is the best season and obviously the coldest ha! I have so much to learn about surfing and I’m not sure about moving out of Ohio so Lake Eerie is looking good to me. A board is slightly necessary though ha ha
Well of course! Of course, where there’s surfing there’s usually a place to rent . . .
Mmm… beautiful post, Rob ! =) Love the imagery and you are so right, it really IS coming ! =) I feel like a toddler waiting to open my brightly wrapped presents… I wonder what this season will bring ?! =)
Hopefully not such extreme weather as was brought by the winter! But knowing the way things tend to go, there’ll be ice storms in Illinois, tornadoes from the lower Midwest through the south, hurricanes along the gulf coast . . . And somewhere, a zealot will be saying “I told you so!!!”
😉
Oh, wow, I had no idea you knew my sister in law ! =) =) Sorry, could not resist ! =)
Ha ha, that’s a familiar story! My sister in law is much the same, but more in the witch-doctor vein of everyone has some level of celiac disease, vaccinations cause autism sort of way.
HAHAHA ! Maybe that is why I am so snarky in the mornings ! =) I bet she is fun at holiday dinners… I am envisioning long, twig-laden hair and an evil laugh… ! =) =)
That’s a great visual! 🙂
I just realized how early you must get up to blog and respond to your fans… you are dedicated, Rob… =) 6:30 is about the earliest I can get online, anything sooner and I run the risk of dripping yogurt on the keys. =) Multitasking works best for me after I actually wake up. =)
Ha ha, I gotta take it when I can get it – I get up at 4:30 / 5:00 am, make coffee, sit down and compose a haiku, respond to comments, read a few posts if I can, and then I have to rush to do a 20-ish minute workout (if I’m lucky, because on Tuesday I also have to balance the ledger because it’s payday) and then I have to rush to work, clock in a couple minutes early, and then do ten hours there, come home, “parent” my wonderful daughter while supper is being made, then eat, and try not to fall asleep while hanging out with my wife and daughter. Until it’s time for them to go to bed, then I try to get some reading time but it invariably becomes try-not-to-pass-out-because-I’m-literally-narcoleptic time. Then I wake up sometime after midnight and crawl into bed. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But there is a sunny side to this – they just put the whole plant on a four-day schedule to “improve morale”. They just can’t get away from mandating overtime yet . . .
WOW ! I forgot how insane life with a little one can be, and the long work hours as well. I balance the checking account every Saturday and workout mornings as well, only W-Su. If I miss those workouts, I get crabby like you wouldn’t believe ! =) Consider it ME time. =)
Will your 4 day schedule make life easier for you, or harder ?! My fav was 3 on, 3 off in the CG, but that was without family responsibilities.
I have very recently decided to go back to a cup of real coffee every morning, it makes my mind so much clearer, you know ?
Have a great night, and hope you can find a few extra hours in your days to slow down a bit… enjoy your weekend, friend !!!!!!!! =)
As for the CG thing, is that three weeks or three days? The four day would give me Friday off, which is an extra day to get things done, hang out with my wife and daughter, get to know the kids that she daycares for her lucre and part of our bill money, and basically patronize local businesses that only keep business hours. Plus, it has the benefit that I can schedule appointments on Fridays and not be required to use PTO to take the day off. Whew!
I hope your weekend finds you well and having a wonderful time. 🙂
It was 3 days on, 3 days off… absolutely LOVED it ! =) Made my weeks super short. I know what you mean about being bale to take a weekday to take care of business, it is hard to see a DR on a Saturday afternoon. =)
It sounds like the new schedule will be awesome for you, I hope it happens soon. =) Weekend is good thus far, the sun is shining so I am going to climb The Big Hill this afternoon, LOVE being out in the sunshine ! =)
YES big hill! You take it!
Was SO WINDY ! =) The sun is bright here today and it was just an awesome time… so happy that the weather is coming around. =)
Yes, here as well FINALLY. 🙂
Am so in the weeds if she ever stumbles upon this happy place… !
lol I just put myself in the same position 😉
it’s a drop in the bucket.
Yeah, but just let her hold that adorable baby and all will be forgiven. =) There is always an out… =)
Whenever I see the word “Abide”, I tend to think of the hymn “Abide with Me”, by Henry Francis Lyte.
I may have never heard that hymn, but I used the word as the title to mean it in the same sense – one of many such senses of that word that fit the haiku.
Sometimes I find these words are a double-edged sword – like you say, a single one can trigger a song, which can either stir up memories (for good or ill) or just get stuck in your head for several days. Which is why people should never say “postman.”
Dang.
and I’m thinking of another song with the word “postman”: I think it’s “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes… *checks YouTube* yep, that’s the one.
sigh. Yep. (rueful nod)
Beautiful. Boing!
Thanks! I must assume that since the speed of sound is slower than the speed of light I just have to wait a bit before it gets here. 😉
I’m bouncing like a demon here!
With baited breath, mate! 😀