Even in a lake filled with dozens of Canada geese, ducks, turtles, fish, and all the other life that calls this little neighborhood watershed home, there is one goose that catches my attention.
Almost every day, I find it standing in the same quiet corner beneath the trees. Not out in the open water with the others. Not in the middle of the activity. Just there.
Alone.
I often find myself wondering what its story is.
Maybe it is older and prefers the shade. Maybe it has a mate nearby that I never see. Maybe it is simply comfortable in that spot and sees no reason to leave. The truth is, I don’t know.
What I do know is that I check for it.
I leave extra cracked corn nearby to make sure food is available. I try to keep that area of the shoreline peaceful and undisturbed. That’s harder than it sounds with two dogs who think every movement requires investigation and two granddaughters who believe the backyard was designed specifically for adventure.
The goose doesn’t know any of this.
It doesn’t know someone notices when it isn’t there. It doesn’t know someone wonders about its story. It doesn’t know someone quietly tries to make its little corner of the world a little easier.
And maybe that’s why I think about it so often.
Over the years, I’ve realized I’ve always been drawn to the individuals standing at the edges of the crowd. The person sitting alone. The one carrying a story nobody asks about. The one who appears fine from a distance but may be fighting a battle no one can see.
Maybe that’s why this goose feels familiar.
Perhaps it isn’t lonely at all. Perhaps it is exactly where it wants to be.
Sometimes standing apart doesn’t mean something is wrong.
Sometimes it means you’ve found a place that feels safe.
Sometimes it means you’re resting, healing, watching, or simply content with your own company.
The older I get, the more I understand that.
So each morning I look across the lake to see if the goose is there, standing quietly beneath the trees.
And when it is, I smile.
Not because I know its story.
But because I know how much it means to be seen.
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