Life Is a Beach of Beauty Away

It’s a small inflatable tube, but big enough to be able to pull it over my shoulders and keep my upper body afloat.

After paddling out a ways in order to have space to float back in on the waves, I lean back and let the water take over; the Gulf pushing me back towards shore in tidal increments. Relaxed and peaceful, I listen to the sounds of the water, the birds, the people on the beach.

The current has turned me around and I’m facing out into the ocean; I watch a pelican fly low over the water. The clouds are dark in the east part of the sky, I know some rain is forecast. And later, as those clouds rain plump drops, I don’t even mind – I’m already wet. I listen to the sound of water on water, I’ve always loved the sound of rain. But it’s time to go in. I see a few ibis on the beach where the water kisses the sand, poking their beaks into the sand. I walk on the white grains, the tube is around my waist and it feels a bit like a giant tutu, so I pirouette on my tippy toes, turning like a ballerina.

The child in me delights.

A heron walks towards a group on the beach, the seagulls edge away as he nears them. He walks in slow measures steps, surveying the scene. He seems to be the king of these birds, on this piece of beach anyway. I’ve been in the sun for hours, trying to get some sun through my sunscreen, but not too much as to be burnt – playing the sun/screen game, I am only partially successful. I have all the vitamin D and also enough aloe vera gel. In any case, it’s been a day for the mind to rest and to wander.