Paddle

A friend made the statement in her Facebook status update today that, "Marriage without purpose is characterized by aimlessness, and one without hope is powerless." Interesting. My entirely uncaffeinated brain had to work to grasp the idea here. Then came the sifting of marriage memories and the application of emotion to each one before sorting those that fit into the four categories of purposeful vs aimless and hopeful vs powerless. Huh. I think she may be right as far as the mister and I go. Wondering about wider application, because that which applies to marriage frequently fits other situations and relationships, my thoughts turned to our son who was torn away from our family through the sort of awful decisions that kids can make without the least comprehension of the consequences.
Thinking of hope and powerlessness, The Boy is actually slated to return home to us a year after the shock of his removal. He currently visits on weekends, but in June he will be home. We will be a family again rather than a group of individuals recovering from the Boy's poor choices. This was our hope. It was our purpose. Sometimes the hope would slip, the tears would come, and the current of powerlessness would threaten to drag one or all of us under. Even then, the purpose would remain to keep one from paddling aimlessly. We've been over the rocks and over the falls, but perhaps there is a still quiet place ahead as the river narrows. A place where we can simply float for a time to recover our strength.