Beach Time

The beauty of the beach was all around her. The seagulls dove quickly and deftly on the crest of an ocean wave. While the woman dug her toes deeper into the wet sand, having stopped walking for a moment, she soaked in the smell of salt air. Gazing down the shoreline at this early hour, she saw the athleticism of a jogger on full display.

There were no signs of children now at the wee hours of the day. Nor was anyone in the ocean besides a lone avid swimmer further out in the waves with his masterful strokes conditioning for what must be a future race.  Her eyes glazed over watching him battle nothing but the elements and his own self driven motives, his passion. 

The peace of the morning was invigorating and refreshing; she inhaled it deeply and let it become part of her being. As she raised her arms to the sky, palms stretched outward she let all the tension of her life absolve with that one stretch and one deep cleansing breathe originating from the diaphragm moving its way slowly upward.

She turned, kicked her feet into the rising tide water feeling the coolness on her toes, laughing as if a child once again in love with the ocean.  The peace of the morning was invigorating and refreshing. She let these moments become part of her being, inhaling it and committing it to her deepest memory banks.  

Passing by condos on her one side and the ocean on the other side, she saw chairs with various colored umbrellas, marking locations for each condominium complex. It was a

seascape much like looking out at the ocean where colorful sails can sometimes be seen. Umbrellas of red, green, and shades of blues. These empty chairs were ready and waiting for rent for the non-sun-bathers who want a prime seat for ocean viewing while vacationing. The one thing that draws everyone to the beach, the vision that drew her here this early, the beauty of the ocean.. Some say it’s magical.

Her foot almost grazes a sandcastle as she gazes down and admires its details. Memories come flooding back of her moments as a parent with her children sitting with sand in the seat of her bathing suit with no care in the world trying to build the biggest and best sand towers to the delight of her kids. Buckets of water were carried, years later by her grandchildren to create wet sand to help pound the walls of the fortress. And, at the same time, the littlest one was hunting for prized shells to place on the outside to add décor to the final creation.

With a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, she looked with admiring eyes at the one

before her. What a masterpiece she saw made with as much love and attention to detail as all the ones she had created. It was apparent someone had joy in their heart when they created this vision in the sand and left it here for those who passed by to enjoy its creation. She walked away reflecting on the memories of castles that had been washed away with the sand and passage of time but never far from the mind.

She was drawn to the water, to walk into the ocean now. The coolness of the salt water further up her body, hitting her knees then her waist, refreshing her from the heat of the walk, the glare of the

sun that had warmed her body. She saw glimpses of schools of fish fluttering by barely visible.  Sure signs of God’s masterpiece, designed with care. She breathed deeply again, stretched again throwing her arms backwards saying aloud “This is peace.  This is serenity.”  She stood there for what seemed like an eternity, then, slowly turned to the shoreline to head home with a slight smile.

To take the beauty of the beach with her only required her carrying the treasured moments in her mind. Perhaps that is why she took the time to soak them up. Then, they would be etched in her memory forever….. the morning ocean walk.