Au Revoir and Hasta La Vista

I paddle – no, not as a sport. For a living actually. I am on the water all the time; I use the oars; I defy the storms and I keep on rowing though life. Easy, moderate, hard, damn difficult choices – and somehow I tend to navigate towards the hard decisions. I don’t hesitate – I just get on my mental boat and off I go like Ulysses.

But somehow, wherever I go – I join my team and the team is this great bunch of people that make all the difference in the world, my world. Some of them are on this side of the ocean, others are on the other side, thousands of miles away. But, in the end they are the ones who seem to pull together with me in making this whole task of paddling so much easier.

No, leaving the one bunch is never easy because I join my other team. But somehow, it’s never good bye but always au revoir or hasta la vista. And whatever happens – I always come back because feelings and relationships and the bonds I have are stronger than the wind, the air, the distance. So, this is a promise – I will always be there – wherever I go, after all as I have said before: Closeness has nothing to do with distance.
PS:  I learned in writing this today: The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection – therefore I paddle and I do not oar…