Beach Memories

Memories -- the stuff of which life is made.  Being at the beach with my two children and their families created precious memories that will fill my heart with warmth for the rest of my life.  Here are a few of them:

• Benny experiencing the waves of the ocean for the first time;
• Niland sitting on his daddy's shoulders and riding the waves;
• Julian, all of 2 months old, smiling and laughing at me;
• Cami, fearless wave rider, ducking under those that would take her under;
• Luke holding Benny for almost 2 hours as the little fellow finally collapsed with exhaustion;
• Niland sleeping on his tummy in the living room, arms tucked beneath himself, early in the morning;
• My daughter-in-law Bee getting wiped out by a wave while sitting in the surf with Benny, who thought it was the greatest thing ever;
• The grandkids finding sand fleas as the waves pulled back to the ocean;
• The calm beauty of the ocean and the sky;
• The endless roar of the pounding surf;
• The excitement on Dori's and John's faces when each of them found whole, unbroken sand dollars which were already dead;
• Finding my own welk shell the last morning of our stay;
• The wind blowing across my face, spraying salty air and sand on occasion;
• Watching the sea oats etch patterns in the sand as the wind bent and swayed them;
• A kite which looked like a dragon fly suspended in the sky;
• Pelicans flying in formation at rooftop height, effortlessly harnessing the wind as they glided down the coast;
• Benny's face covered with chocolate;
• Niland stating that he needed a more quiet place to sleep than his bedroom;
• Watching the sun rise while sitting on the back deck of the beach house;
• Smelling the fresh clean scent of rain as it finally fell on very dry and thirsty land;
• Having cinnamon buns and coffee for breakfast;
• Playing Dutch Blitz with Cami, Luke and John; Cami is very sharp for a 9-year-old!;
• Enjoying scrumptious seafood at a local eatery;
• Eating hand-made ice cream at the same place we've eaten it before; Cami can never finish her single scoop -- it is SO BIG!

I have to admit that I wasn't all upbeat while there; my back was in a great deal of pain -- and still is -- and I was broken-hearted that I couldn't do what I love to do -- swim in the ocean, ride the waves, and boogey-board.  Long walks on the beach were also out; simply walking to the beach, a distance of approximately a quarter mile, wore me out, and then I had to turn around and return to the beach house, so going to the beach was exhausting.  Pity isn't admirable, and I wallowed in it a bit.  Having been active all of my life, the restrictions with which I'm dealing are very frustrating.  As my daughter and I sat on the beach one day, my eyes filled with tears over what I couldn't do, and she reminded me that I'll be able to do it next year, and yes, with God's help, I will.
Pain teaches people a lot of things; first of all, I have great empathy for those who experience pain daily because I've lived with it daily for two and a half months.  Pain softens the heart and opens the eyes to things we've never observed before; pain teaches us to take nothing for granted.  So I pray for God's grace to get me through this period, for His patience while I'm in it, and for His restoration when I come out of it.