The Sweet Spot

This is an excerpt from the weekly News-Loveletter. If you would like it sent to your inbox directly (with all the other juicy bits, including a mini joy practice), you can add yourself to my mailing list here.

Timing is everything. Show up at the lake in July, and you’re met with swarms of mosquitoes. In April and late October, you might get snowed in. But early October? That’s my sweet spot on the alpine lakes.

No matter how many times I’m schooled on the magic of timing, I’m apt to forget it in the face of my desire. Maybe I want desperately to say something and be heard … but this time, this place, this person — not going to happen. Maybe I want to pick blueberries, but on Thursday few are ripe and Saturday they are all picked out. Friday is the sweet spot, and if I’m otherwise booked, no amount of forcing is going to bring the fruit.

Settling the hull of my canoe into cold clear water, I wriggle inside myself with celebration. I’ve done it. I’ve found the sweet spot! Mist lifts from the water’s surface as my paddle dips and pulls, gliding me past Cascade forests and pebbled beaches. My reflection races along beside me and comes to rest as I prepare to disembark at the edge of my favorite island. A morning of solitude, self-reflection, and the gentle remembering that when it comes to everything, timing is all.