The Day My World Changed, When The Canoe Flipped 8/11/2024

 Good Morning! 

Today started with a hot cup of Door County Inn Keepers Blend Coffee and it is time to write. 

I am going way back in the memory vault on this one, but for me the trip to the vault of my mind is a good one. Back on this day in 1984 I led a group of teenagers from our church on a canoe trip in Central Wisconsin. I had left the plumbing field and was now working in health care for about a year. I met a young lady at work and we were associates and friendly. The day before the trip she asked me in passing what I had planned for the weekend. I explained that I would be taking approximately 70 kids on a trip down a river with some minor rapids. It was expected that the canoe would tip over. That was part of the fun! I explained that I needed more adults to help me in herding the kids down river. She replied, "I like to canoe, I could help you out." 

We had a great time as we shared a canoe which tipped over within the first 50 yards after launching. My canoe partner's laugh was contagious and before I knew it, the day was over, the teens were returned, and it was time to call it "well done". 

We had eaten a late lunch that day and now it was only fitting that I would ask my friend if she would like to share a pizza close to her apartment. During that pizza outing I knew that what I was searching for in a lady friend was right in front of me. I mustered up the courage to ask my tired, sun burned friend to consider going out for dinner with me on a real date. To my surprise she said yes. The rest is history and I married her in 1986. This day might not mean much to others, but for me it was the day my world changed. 

Psalm 131:2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. 

You might have a day that just popped into your head, one that makes you smile. My friends, that day is a blessing from God and should be captured in your heart and mind. Today I will count my blessings and smile when I think about that canoe flipping over and my wife laughing all the way down the river. 

Marty