Pamela Loxley Drake

Did you ever walk backwards out of a room when you happened upon an uncomfortable situation? I know I have.

Or, when you peek into your child’s room and find the child almost asleep. Softly you walk back closing the door.

Well, our pup Remy has a new take on moving forward backward. He walks backward in order to walk forward. It is quite the sight and one that, of course, triggers my thinking. In many ways we do the same, especially in the car. Back up. Drive forward. A prime example.

In life, I find that I sometimes need to go back in order to propel myself forward emotionally. My sister June and I often talk about the past in order to understand ourselves and our growing up more clearly. It can change the future when you understand the past.

Sometimes I sit on the old porch swing that belonged to my aunt back in the ’30s. The swing went on to be on our porch when I grew up and later on June’s porch. As I rock back and forth I feel a closeness to these people. That feeling you get when you go back then push forward with a fresh breeze in your face and memories arriving with each movement.

Often I had to back up when I saw poison ivy or maybe a snake or a cow pie. Back up and find a new way to go forward. That retreating that might, just might, open up a new adventure, one without slithering, scratching or smelly shoes.

Perhaps we cannot go forward in most circumstances unless we look at where we have been. In business you often have to step back to discover how to solve a problem, to understand a situation. The same applies to relationships.

Poor Remy hates walking on hard floors, especially in the kitchen. He has discovered that he can walk backward on the pads of his feet and have an easier way to cross the floor without slipping. He backs across the floor and around the corner by the back door then goes forward to the next rug. It’s a lot like drivers who want to back their cars in instead of more quickly pulling into a parking spot. Remy is a lot cuter when he does it.

Yep, moving forward backward. Worth thinking about.

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Pamela Loxley Drake is a Beaverton resident and self-described lifelong “farm girl.” You can contact her at pamldrake@gmail.com.