My husband and I enjoy adventures and have tried to incorporate outdoor adventures into our family in different ways.
There are 6.5 years between our oldest and youngest and the interest levels were different for a while when our younger two kids, Eliza and Isaac, were small. It made it more difficult to find things to do that appealed to all of our kids. The littles, as we called them, weren’t quite up to hiking a few miles and the older kids were past the point of splash pads and playgrounds.
One day we decided we would try canoeing. It seemed to appeal to all age demographics in our family. It wasn’t too physically challenging for our littles, but our older kids could help paddle and be more engaged.
On a warm Saturday in May, set out to the canoe rental place. We discussed what arrangements we would make for seating in the canoes. Our older kids weren’t old enough to ride alone, so that meant my husband and I would each have a canoe. We debated on whether we should split up the older and younger kids and in the end decided that we would each take a little kid and each take a big kid.
It isn’t a surprise to those who know me well that I have a slight reputation for injury and mishaps. My husband and I decided that he should be the one to take our youngest, who was 3, just in case my canoe decided to tip over (of its own volition, of course!)
When we arrived at the canoe entry point in the river, we put all put on our life jackets and climbed in our respective canoes. Everyone was excited to begin our river adventure.
We started paddling along, already enjoying the contrast of the cool water and the warm sunshine on our skin. Our kids were chattering away, talking excitedly to each other from canoe to canoe. It was the kind of moment that, as a parent, you want to bottle up the warm feeling and keep forever.
My husband was leading the way, so he could help me navigate through any obstacles we may come upon. For whatever reason, his canoe started to veer towards the bank, where a large tree branch was hanging over the river. There seemed to be adequate space for his canoe to go under the branch, possibly needing only a little lift of the brach.
I can’t speak to exactly what happened, since I wasn’t particularly watching closely. But, into the sweet silence of nature cut a scream from both of my children AND my husband as their canoe tipped completely over into the chilly river. The kids, still screaming, started floating (slowly) down the river as the canoe started to sink, my husband frantically trying to stop it from doing so. I paddled quickly down the river and hopped out of my canoe to rescue our children. As I was gathering them up, I watched our belongings in the tipped canoe float gently down the river. Two flip-flops, a red croc, a pink pacifier, two oars. Somewhere in the depths was a towel and my phone (in a ziplock bag. We weren’t planning on taking it but needed it to call for our pickup).
Thankfully, it was a beautiful day, thus a busy one on the river, and a kind stranger helped my husband turn the canoe back over. As my husband walked towards where I was standing with my canoe and our four screaming children, he miraculously stepped on our towels on the bottom of the river, found the phone, AND caught the floating shoes and pacifier. All of our belongings were retrieved.
At this point, our youngest two kids were crying hysterically. (Yes, one of the younger ones hadn’t even been in my husband’s canoe. He was in MINE.) We were 5 minutes down the river into our 1.5-hour canoe trip. We assessed the situation and it was apparent that we were going to have to continue down the river, screaming children or not.
Screaming children is what we had for 1 hour and twenty-five minutes, until our younger two, who were now both riding in my canoe, fell asleep.
Believe it or not, when we got back to our van to head home, my husband and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. We had wanted an adventure, and BOY did we have one.
Have you ever planned something and had your canoe go straight into the trees and tip over?
Maybe you had a plan for your birth and things went seemingly the opposite? Maybe it feels like your canoe sunk altogether.
Maybe your last postpartum period was overwhelming and hard and doing it again feels impossible.
Part of the work we do as doulas at RCD is to help you gather up your towel from the bottom of the river, help you try to rescue your canoe, and help you back in. We can help get you the information you need to decide whether or not to try to swim/walk back upriver to change course or support you as you just continue down the river, maybe shedding a few tears along the way.
Whatever the river holds, at Rocket City Doulas, we’re here for you and we’re ready for the adventure!
