The first time I played on a beach was in the Northeast, on Lake Erie. There, in the slight chill of the May ocean breeze, I learned the magic and wonder that can be found nowhere else on God’s earth. The sights and sounds, the sand, sun, sea breeze, and ocean waves, remain without equal. I was young and naive then, playing pirate with two other youngsters who, in time, would become forever entwined into my circle of life.
Time and tides have changed my worldview significantly, but the awe of the beach remains. Over the years I have developed a mental image by which I rate every beach experience, shaped by the massiveness of Haystack Rock with seagulls circling overhead, the magnificence of a Mexican sunset, the sugary feel of sand in my toes. Some beaches fall short.
This one meets every expectation.
As I write these words, I am sitting in the shade, looking out past a craggy break wall at the ocean. Within view are a fishing boat, snorkelers and swimmers, a father and his toddler son playing kickball on the beach. In the distance, in the opposite direction, a cruise ship is docked, the passengers no doubt shopping in the city. A tropical breeze rustles the palms that shade me from the sun’s rays. My feet are still caked with sand from a wade into the water’s edge.
I am as close to relaxed perfection in this moment as I have been in some time. Even with the sights and sounds of activity around me; the father talking to his son, a game of paddleball commencing nearby, I am in a zone that comes very rarely. I am alone with my thoughts, words coming as freely and quickly as I can write them down, as close to being without a care in this world as my type A personality will allow.
I don’t think I will ever lose the wonder of sitting on the beach, looking at the awesome, magnificent, fearsome place that is the ocean. The experience is without equal and beyond description.
Ahhhh…..
sherry you have just about captured my feelings on that magnificent thing called an OCEAN! My ongoing love affair with its beaches, sights and sounds leave me feeling lovesick…..as i have only been a very few times. Enjoy your peace my sister, may OUR FATHER hold you tenderly in his arms as you enjoy his masterpiece.
lov ya sis
jerri june