Words + Images

Now, I didn’t quite do a physical happy dance but I kind of sort of did mentally. When I was recently with my friend who needs to walk as part of her recuperation, we were slowly walking along a canal, and then I paused. She asked what I was looking at. I remember saying, “I saw just a shimmer … but the thing about spider webs is that you need the right light … wait a minute! Wait a minute! There! Can you see it? There’s the web!”

I kept inching forward despite the fact that swimming is not my greatest skill. The web was right at the water’s edge taut between trees and grape vines. I knew the light would shift soon, and it did. My friend had waited patiently for me as I got as many shots as I could. Eventually we continued on our loop. I became lost in my thoughts and then I heard, “Cynthia!” I looked around. “What?” “Don’t you see it?” She pointed out a spider’s web. And she pointed it out with expectation. With a grin, I pulled out my camera.

She continued to point out spider webs throughout the journey home.

Despite my love for E. B. White’s book Charlotte’s Web and the animated movie, I don’t go out of my way to seek out spiders. But I do have a growing appreciation for the webs. Their embodiment of complicated concepts of connections, nodes, fragility and at the same time great strength and resiliency. I can’t always see the webs around me but when I do I treasure the moment and I am grateful when others point out those webs to me.