life in waves

so i spent a part of last evening and this morning walking on the north end of the beach.  the family of a dear friend of mine owns a small cottage (aka the Little House) on 81st and Atlantic. it’s the kind of place i dream of stowing away in for a long winter and emerging in the summer with an epic manuscript, a life’s work kind of masterpiece that will be discussed long after i have passed on from this life.  either that or i would go completely mad and be that lady who pushes a cart of empty soda cans and rummages through trash cans asking them questions about the meaning of life. asking the trash cans that is.

anyway, my 35th birthday is quickly approaching and i have been feeling quite introspective and reflective lately.  getting reacquainted with long lost souls from various times in my life on facebook has of course enhanced this general feeling of nostalgia (bordering ad nauseum maybe), and other recent events in my life have certainly pressed me for answers to what i have done or not done, and where i am going or not going right now. 

i cant say i had any revelations or anything today, but i will say that the ocean is quite possibly the best place for this.  i used to think it was the mountains – and they still are a close second.  but something about the waves crashing in and causing all this energy and chaos and power, and then dying down to nothing but foam on the sand, reminded me how life comes in spurts.  i watched some surfers just resting on their boards in the water, waiting for the next ride.  i watched a little boy run up to the water and scream and laugh and run away when the wave came closer.  i thought about how the clouds came in and then moved on their merry way.  everything changes. everything passes.  everything leaves a mark.  there is a time for it all.  i’m watching the horizon, but loving the sand under my feet. peace is in the balance, as always.

ps. to OC, wish you were there – missed ya.  but i was wondering if you bash your head on the door to the porch??? :p

oceans apart

I hadn’t been in the ocean in about 7 years. I just realized that yesterday.  I lived in Denver for 6 years and the ocean is kinda sparse out there if you hadn’t noticed.  And even when I visited ocean-encroaching states, I didn’t actually go IN.  maybe my feet did.

so yesterday was the perfect day for it.  it was blazing hot out and the beach was relatively empty. there were dolphins in the distance.  the sun was bright and hot and inviting.  the ocean was dark and cool and inviting.  i wished i had a board or a tube or something to lay on, but bobbing up and down turned out just fine.

I started thinking about how amazing it is that the ocean covers so much of the earth.  It’s really all one big water body, but we like to divide things up. Divide and conquer. And subsequently name and label and claim and own.  And it’s amazing how one body of water can look so incredibly different from another. It’s like people. On the surface we are all human, but just below, we have so much still to discover.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day and a fitting end to the weekend.  I gotta do that more often. And with the same company… (thanks Al! and have a great trip over the other ocean!)

pics from friday

So Friday night, my brother and I headed off to VB to the Amphitheatre to see Third Day, Switchfoot, Robert Randolph Family Band, and Jars of Clay.  We got there late and missed JoC, but at least we got to see them at the end when everyone came out and ran amok.  It was a great show.  Third Day is great live and I highly recommend seeing them if you haven’t.  They are true blue musicians, and have a great message and a worshipful spirit. I was really encouraged by their attitudes and they just seemed to have so much fun up there.  Plus it was a beautiful night, not too warm or cold.  Except for the fact that a small fountain drink is SIX BUCKS!!! it’s a great venue to catch a show.

and ps. these pics were taken from my cell phone so they are pretty blurry. but our seats were really good!! thanks Dawn