My daughter and I headed to the beach today for some much needed salt water therapy. Thirty minutes from our house, at a great little state park with free parking and all the needed amenities. It was a peaceful week day with not too many peeps and got a great spot right by the ocean.
I think my favorite part about a trip to the beach is the smell. It's the smell of serenity. Cocoa Beach is a great place to watch the huge cruise ships come and go. Literally huge floating skyscrapers.
We had packed my trusty lunchbox with grapes, water, cokes and crackers. Other than that all we took was two sand chairs, a beach blanket and our nifty new binoculars. I'm not all about having to make three trips back to car carrying an armload down each time just for a day at the beach and certainly not all about having to do it all in reverse when leaving.
It's hard enough just walking in dry sand if you ask me!
Massey read a book for one of her classes and I read a book for my pleasure. It was a most excellent day.
With all the hesitations and apprehensions I had moving from my home state of over fifty six years...this weekly ritual has made them all worth it. To be able to go sit on a beach and relax, thirty minutes after pulling out of your driveway is definitely the way to go.
It soothes your soul, looking at that huge ocean, rolling waves, seemingly endless sand and constant breeze.
It's our new Go To place...and we like it!
I'm slowly adapting to my new surroundings...and the scalping the little old lady (which means older than me) gave me at Great Clips last week. I look at it this way...I got my money's worth, all $14 of it. It's starting to grow a bit and like it more every day, just like living here.
My favorite spot in our tiny temp rental is now our screened in back porch. I've managed to turn it into my own personal oasis. Massey strung the lights for me, my plants are growing like crazy (porch faces east) and take care of theplants every single day, watering and spraying with a water bottle.
When I get home late from work, usually head out back first thing. The corner of our back yard faces a redunkously busy intersection across the street from a college campus main entrance but calms down late at night and is a great spot to sit and read or write.
I'll have to post pics of the front yard tomorrow as well, have made it pretty awesome too. I'm all about pulling into the driveway of where I live and liking what I see...and have done.
I like our neighbors (on one side) as well. Young couple (Ashley and Justin) in their twenties, and have three dogs as well. Ziggy has a crush on the one they call Lilly. The minute they let Lilly out back, she runs to the part of the fence where she can stick her little needle nose under and Ziggy races to meet her. Every time.
She had started digging at the spot and could now see her eyes too when she came out. Thank goodness Ziggy has that fat boxer snout.
Our neighbors worked in their back yard last Saturday, putting down chicken wire at the spot on their side and covering it with lattice. I went out back to read and let Ziggy out with me. He heard them over there working and zoomed over to see if his girlfriend was around. (he's neutered so guess it's just his buddy)
I heard Ashley and Justin talking on the other side of the fence when Ziggy walked over to the exact spot where they were, hiked his leg andsplattered his urine through the slats of the privacy fence.
I immediately heard Ashley from the other side of the fence, not sounding angry but rather kind of insulted... saying calmly to Ziggy, "Well that wasn't very nice."
I called back over to them, "Ziggy's the bad boy next door who parents don't like."
I bet I've laughed about that happening ten times since then.
It's been a change. It's been a hard change, but is beginning to be a good change.
I'm actually beginning to feel like myself again.
Massey was driving us home from the beach today, playing all her music on the stereo, which is okay.
I blast my music in the kitchen every time I'm in there... on the Bose speaker my brother gave me. They (Tim and Massey) never complain, mainly because am usually in there cooking for them.
So we were almost home, tooling down the road with the top down...when a song came on and Massey said "I have to turn this up!"
I listened to it. I liked it. The guy had crazy vocal range but I liked the lyrics too. I told Massey, "That's the song to play when the groom is walking you back up the aisle."
Of course she one upped me with which song she wanted played when she walked down the aisle.
I'm down with that. Weddings are always too uptight for the bride and groom. Let music tell the real story.
My cousin's daughter walked down the aisle to "Fix You."
I'm okay with all this new fangled thinking. Actually I kind of like it.
Who's not tired of hearing "Here comes the bride"?
Just tends to make you nervous, not excited.
I've been nervous way too long and was starting to wear on my already worn tiny body.
The days I spent working with Massey at the airport were the best.
I can honestly say... we were loved, shouted out to on a daily basis and known by name from hundreds of people from concourse to concourse and shuttle to shuttle.
That does and will always mean a lot to me, and should. We were known among the tens of millions at the world's busiest airport.
To raise your best friend is an awesome privilege. I check and reign her in when necessary and as she matures often does the same for me.
After talking tonight, for a while...she told me this song changed her very way of thinking.
In other words, listen and learn from your kids what they are listening and learning from.
Til next time, COTTON
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