The Solace of Surf

Here’s this week’s reflection. I hope it resonates with you and ask that, if you enjoyed, please comment and share on your social media. Heartfelt thanks for all your support!

Keeping the light on for you,

Carol

Sandpipers scurry in their zig-zag pattern to find snacks, following the ebb and flow of the surf. Despite their urgency, their behavior is strangely calming to me. 

Once again on familiar sand, dark sunglasses hide my emotions. This tarry has not been for pleasure, but for closure. Sadness, along with love and gratitude, have been the threads weaving this new portion of the family tapestry as we gather to say goodbye to my father-in-law. 

Thankfully arriving in time, our final sentiments and loving touch were able to be expressed and acknowledged. A good man in the sea of humanity, his countenance will continue to be greatly missed despite his blessing of advanced age. 

My attention back to the rhythm of the Gulf, waves break, then recede. As with our existence, pinnacle moments erupt then retreat to the mundane. While Mother Nature shapes and reshapes this coast, change is inevitable for us as well, often due to forces greater than ourselves. 

This shore holds our affection. The one my husband and I walk repeatedly when in this locale, it has echoed laughter and soaked up occasional tears. Always there for us, it has become an extension of who we are, continuing to gently hug and mold us without fail. 

My saunter continues toward an inlet nourishing the adjacent pass teeming with covert aquatic life under a protective mangrove canopy. While hurricanes may threaten this prop root fortress, they fail to destroy it. Human resilience is akin to the mangroves – a densely woven foundation of self-preservation.

Dad weathered many emotional tempests, some nearly taking his life. Yet he stoically persevered in a private, likely tumultuous, quietude.  While we will never know the dialogue in his subconscious, we know with certainty Dad kept moving forward.

Incredibly fair and accepting throughout the years, he refused to intercede with any life decisions of his sons, sometimes to their frustration. But in the end, two morally strong, successful men, led by example, carry his legacy forward. These three lives mirror the calm yet tenacious natural beauty that has surrounded the family for years – graceful, ever changing, and protective. 

A shell catches my attention at the inlet. Eventually tossing it back into the water, I watch the ring of ripples eventually fade as they travel away from their nucleus. The metaphorical circumference of our elders has acquiesced into eternity. 

While my generation’s ring is still quite visible, it subtly lacks the sharpness of those more central. Ever closer to our own destinies, it is our turn to go it alone as adult orphans and edit our testaments should they need revision. An ocean of possibilities surrounds us to assuage any trepidation toward future unknowns. 

Looking up from my introspection, the sparkle of sunlight on the water reconnects me to the brilliance of life despite the occasional clouds. 

I am intensely grateful for this enchanting place, magnificent and grounding regardless of season. 

I take in deep cleansing breaths of salty air, the whimsy of the shore birds as they go about their daily business, and the serenity of the Gulf. I am grateful for this visit, and for the chance to learn from the steadfast examples of the long, well-lived life we have come to celebrate. 

Rest in peace, Dad.