Rollin’ down the river

Proud Peggy keeps on rollin’.

This past weekend, my 85-year old mother hopped into an inflatable barcalounger and rolled right on down the Oconto River, an activity she’s been hankering to do all summer.

Not everyone thought this was a good idea. Her kind neighbor called out to me when we swung by to pick my mom up.

“Now you be careful with her!” she yelled sternly across the street.

“We will!” I yelled back, a risky response. My mom hates it when people are careful with her. She likes them to know she is perfectly capable of doing the things she needs to do.

Mostly, she is. She still plays tennis several times a week and works her crossword puzzles religiously. She recently collaborated with her eye doctor to develop a pair of glasses that, she tells us, should help her tennis game immensely.

She’s a competitive soul who loves a spirited debate and rarely concedes anything, certainly not her age, which she will not be pleased I mentioned here.

Having grown up in the greatest of all river towns, Cincinnati, my mom loves rivers. She loves to walk long them, sit by them, ride on them and paddle down them.

She hinted several times with increasing wistfulness that she’d really like to come up to our cabin for a float.

She has floated down the Oconto River every summer since my dad bought property along it nearly 50 years ago. This weekend, conditions were perfect for a. Grandma Peggy float — blue skies, warm air, a wide-open schedule and an empty river. My mom does not like witnesses to either her entry or emergence from the water, both of which she executed with youthful grace on Saturday.

This float went beautifully. We spotted an eagle, several ducks and a little water snake I didn’t mention at the time.

We all felt lucky to be on the water Saturday — grateful for the weather, the company and that old, reliable river that has been so good to our family for so many years.