Unlike my time in quarantine, this week away from the office I was able to get out and
about. In fact, today my girlfriend and I went out together to Ocean City, Maryland and Assateague Island. A day trip we’ve been hoping to do for a while now, we shopped at a small antique shop, explored Assateague Island’s sand dunes, and even saw a few of the island’s wild horses! It was a much needed getaway considering the past month. Just getting back from the Eastern Shore, I think my favorite parts of the trip came from the beach. It was a cool day, lightly cloudy with some slight winds, the smallest of whitecaps on the waves of the Atlantic. Walking in the surf, I thought of my dad, and his love for the water. How, whenever we’re together near the ocean in the Lower 48, he typically takes his socks off and stuffs them in his Sambas, holding them and wading into the water. The last couple of times we’ve been together and done that – last fall when we drove to Kitty Hawk together and another time at Huntington Beach in California – it’s just been him and me. I can’t go to a beach and not wade in now when we’re apart, thinking of him. Walking along the dunes with my girlfriend, I also loved the sunset. The sky turned from a hazy mix of clouds and grey sky into this wonderful kaleidoscope of blues, purples, pinks, oranges, and reds, broken only by the contrails of airplanes thousands of feet up. As the sunset to the West, the moon rose in the East over the sea, casting a bright pure white sheen over the darkening sea. And in the middle of it all, at least from my perspective, was my girlfriend. The way the wind played through her hair. The way her eyes looked reflecting the light. Her smile and laugh. She was angelic. I’m very grateful I could spend that time with her. As we drove back, listening to NPR and enjoying one another’s company, I couldn’t help but to think of all of the things I’m thankful for in this world – my family, my girlfriend, my friends, my health, my financial security… I could go on and on. I am incredibly fortunate to have all that I have and I thank God, my parents, and my family for everything I am and everything I have. Writing now, I’m so very grateful for my life and everything I have, from the ability to go on day trips like the one my girlfriend and I went on today to my life itself. I look forward to more opportunities to get out and see the world. And hope that I keep a sense of humility as I do so. This world is the host of so much beauty and wonder, I can’t wait to see more of it. With my dad, with my girlfriend, with my family and friends. I hope post-pandemic, we can all go out again with greater regularity. But for now, I’ll enjoy the opportunities of the moment, and the memories of yesteryear.
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Mike Juvrud