A sunny side quest

Paddling a canoe with a spouse who doesn't spend much time on the water (he's not a boating or swimming enthusiast) requires nerves of steel and lots of patience.

I know this because after a paddling trip with my daughters' 4-H club late yesterday afternoon, I have a lot of bite marks on my tongue.

My day began at 5 a.m. at the office with an hour break later in the morning to run up to Topsham to pick up the girls' exhibits from the fairgrounds then return to the office to finish up there before rushing to meet up with the girls and their 4-H club in Windham for the family canoe trip.

Needless to say I was a bit frazzled when I arrived at the river and everyone was waiting for me. So I just got in our family's borrowed canoe and pushed off the shore.

Quickly I realized that I was sitting in a bad spot. My long legs did not fit into the bow of the boat so I had to swing them over the side. I felt ridiculous but the cool water felt great on my feet. This was one example in a series of moments that I chose to look on the sunny side of my situation.

The Presumpscot River in Windham is a great place to paddle with kids.

The group decided to explore a small finger of the river so we followed the other canoes through a narrow passage.

My arms got tired fast and I realized that Fino wasn't paddling. He and the girls were watching some ducks and a crane on a dock. Now that's not normally a problem, I wanted the kids to enjoy the scenary on the ride, but Fino needed to help so we could keep up with the group.

I suggested this to him and after a few strokes of his paddle, had us banging into the shore. Did I mention he was in the rear of the canoe and was supposed to be steering the boat?

We got back on track with the other 5 canoes but continued to have a few steering problems. But the kids were enjoying themselves so that was OK - another sunny side moment.

After about 45 minutes I turned over my paddle to L. because I needed a break. Fino gave his paddle to G. and the girls had fun paddling us around the river. We found some pretty flowers and lilypads and even spotted a turtle.

When we decided to head back - which meant we had to paddle against the current - Fino took G.'s paddle and started us on our way. L. still had my paddle and I happily let her keep it since she was doing well.

I had my back to the bow of the boat to stretch my legs and didn't see the big tree branches until they smacked me on the back of the head.

Thanks for the warning - let alone steering - darling husband. No sunny side moment then.

After some seat-swapping Fino and I paddled our way back to the boat launch without incident. I think we'd finally found our rhythm after a few hours on the water.

The girls did a much better job paddling than our trip last year and I was proud of them.

There really is a sunny side to every situation.