Crossing the Creek

Crossing the creek with Melvin in March, 2009.


A well-worn path through the woods connects my property to my parents’ property. The path winds downhill until you reach the creek at about the halfway mark. Years ago, when I first bought my 10 acres, Mama and I hacked our way through the briars, wild azaleas, and privet to create a crossing at one of the shallowest points. We placed some large, flat rocks in the creek bed to act as stepping stones. If your balance is good, and the creek isn’t too high from recent rain, you can cross here without getting your feet wet.

Melvin and I have walked this path hundreds of times over the years. But recently, he has shown an increasing reluctance to cross the creek. As we approach the crossing, he hesitates and scans up and down the creek searching for a better way to the other side. Several times he has turned back and headed for home. He used to traverse the creek without a thought, often stopping for a dip to cool his corgi belly. But with age, he has grown less confident. His mobility is still good, but his vision is poor. The stepping stones challenge him, and he feels the need to jump from one to the next. Even though I have coaxed him to just walk beside the stepping stones, directly on the creek bottom, he refuses unless I leash him and make him do it. Maybe with his poor vision he can’t see the creek bottom, or maybe the various shades of stone and rock combined with shadows just make it all a confusing muddle for him. Whatever the reason, he doesn’t want to cross the creek anymore. Sometimes I leash him and guide him to the other side. The other day I carried him across. If I just walk ahead and don’t fuss over him, sometimes he will summon the courage and bolt across on his own. It saddens me to see this decline in Melvin. More evidence of the passage of time. More evidence of my own looming old age when I too may struggle to cross the creek.

But for now, I have decided to build a simple footbridge so that we can continue our daily walk together, and Melvin can cross easily, without fear, and with dignity. We all need a little help from time to time to face the big challenges in our life.

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