Monday Morning Musing: Spinning 'round & 'round

Ah, technology, social media, and those small computers we carry in our pockets all day.  They all let us keep up with each other and life in ways we might not have imagined even a decade or so ago.  On Friday morning I spent an hour chatting with our dear cousin, Sally, who is in…..Ireland.  The use of a free app meant we could leisurely talk about laundry and life as well as worry about the state of this nation and the world as well as remember things about Bruce together. 

That same technology sent me a reminder of another October 17^th, twelve years earlier, when Bruce had decided to surprise me with a spin on Seattle’s brand new Great Wheel.  I remember the excitement mingled with that feeling my stomach gets when I’m up high and the absolute trust that if we happened to be on the fateful spin when that ferris wheel plunged into the chilly octopus infested waters of Puget Sound, life together would be worth it. 

The photos were both a delight to see and, as you might imagine, hard to look at.  Bruce looks like he often did when he’d dreamed up an adventure large or small – pleased and satisfied and excited.  I have my face buried in his chest, but in truth, I was also feeling the joy of that day. 

A ride on the Great Wheel takes you out over the waters of Puget Sound in one direction and back over land on the return.   We switched seats in our car (fully enclosed and heated) so that we could both see the waters rush up to us and do the same with the Seattle skyline.  When we moved to change our seats, the car would swing back and forth, making balance tricky and making it necessary to hold onto each other in the process. 

It occurs to me that our life together was a lot like our spin on the Great Wheel.  Bruce always encouraged us toward adventure, even if it felt a tiny bit scary.  Other adventures snuck up behind us – life with its unanticipated events and challenges.  Sometimes, we’d turn around and face things head on – stumbling to find our balance and holding onto each other along the way.  And sometimes we’d just ride the ride – watching the view change back and forth, holding our breath when it was our turn to be suspended at the top. 

And always holding on to each other in the process.