Now that I'm back to regular morning bike rides, City Park is on my list most days. On a recent visit, I noticed that the swans had built a nest on one of the islands in a lagoon. I scooped a couple of shots, reminding myself that I'm going to need to come back.
The other morning, I headed out about 6:15 on my bike. I wanted to beat the heat, shoot a few shots, call Mom and Dad from somewhere along the route, and get a gallon of milk at Canseco's. I call Mom and Dad almost every morning at 7am. Canseco's doesn't open until 7. So, I had a nice amount of time to wander in the "cooler-ness" of the morning in the park.
Close to 7, I was near a bench just across from the swans' nest. I shot a few shots and then made my call straight up 7am. Dad answered, as usual these days. Some days I can hear Mom in the background getting ready. Other days she's still in bed and not going to breakfast. You can hear the sadness and disappointment in Dad's voice.
He likes it when Mom goes with him. I'd say that these days, it's maybe a third to half of the time that Mom goes. Dad and I chatted a bit. I told him where I was, and we commiserated about how nice it would be if he could be there with me. Dad went on to breakfast on his own, and I headed out of the park.
Before I could even get to Carrollton, there he was. The big guy swan. I decided to stop and walk along the shore as he floated back toward the nest and the way I had just come.
He had a bath. He had a nibble. And then he meandered his way back to the island, the nest, and his "Mom" sleeping on her nest.
It was difficult NOT to think about my folks and their struggles. I have this picture of Dad heading out on his own in his wheelchair for breakfast and returning to their room to find Mom still in bed. Most mornings he brings Mom breakfast back.Ah, the phases and stages of our lives...babies, old age, and so much more. It felt as if the swans were acting out my parents' mornings, just for different reasons.
It was a morning of pulls on the old heartstrings.
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