The Grace of Her Joy

“Imagine a dolphin dancing in the sky. Let it dance with joy.”

Yoko Ono

My husband and I own a 24-year-old cabin cruiser that carries us to various locales along Florida’s coasts and waterways during the winter and early spring. When the coronavirus cases started to spike this year, we left the boat in the Keys and returned home, expecting that the virus would taper off in a couple of months. It soon became obvious that wouldn’t happen, so we made the hard decision to fly back to Florida and move the boat to storage—a 4-day trek from the Keys to LaBelle, including overnight stays along the way.

It turned out to be our most challenging trip so far. The second day out, we lost an engine. Fortunately, my husband was able to repair it during our stay in the Everglades. But then a few days later, we ran aground. Once again, we successfully overcame the mechanical issue. Those turned out to be small troubles compared to the cloud of fear and distrust that hung thick in the air. Because of the pandemic and the recent politicizing of mask-wearing and social-distancing, tensions were high in a state that’s usually as sunny in temperament as in forecast. 

By the time we neared our final destination, our nerves were frayed. As we cruised at 10 knots along the Caloosahatchee Waterway, we heard a high-pitched noise from the aft deck. Neither of us recognized the sound, so I went down to investigate, the wind whipping loose strands of hair into my eyes. It had come from the port-side aft, and as I checked that corner I heard a splash. What fell?! And then I saw: a lone dolphin had leapt in our wake and was now swimming (with glee, it looked like to me) alongside us. It had been her voice we’d heard, a high-pitched whistle. Had she been trying to capture our attention?

Regardless, she had it. She swam with us all the way to the marina, leaping and tilting her eye up as if watching our reactions. In the grace of her joy, our stresses dissolved. I shouted to her over the roar of the engines, “Thank you! You made my day!”