Late morning in May, the beach is empty except for one couple and their dog, tiny shapes in the distance over by the breakwater.
I find an open spot, devoid of seaweed to set down my things: a baseball cap I use as both a sunshield and a way to keep my hair dry, and an orange and pink beach towel. I do not bring a chair, umbrella or a mat. My visit is for swimming and walking. The towel is old, but reliably thick enough to dry my skin.
The tide is up, the wind is blowing and I see a few whitecaps. Blue sky and wispy clouds above, I admire the sweep of the shore. No matter how many times I stand in this place, it never stops being beautiful.
Today, with the wave action, I calculate it will be too hard to keep my hair dry so I don’t bother with a ponytail or hat. I pull off my T-shirt and sweatpants and run headfirst, arms stretched out in front of me towards the water, focused on my destination.
I splash loudly as I launch myself forward and start to kick, ignoring the cold, fighting the current. I dive under, open my eyes and view light and shadows, green water, yellow sand, and a few swimming minnows
I swim against the current until I grow tired and flip on my back to let the waves carry me the opposite way. I become one with the sea. I am part of the ebb and flow of the tide.
Another wave arrives and water sloshes over my face. Just as the sun begins to dry my skin another wave arrives to rock and splash me again. This is life, I tell myself, always keeping me off balance.
My thoughts are solely on the physical, the feeling of weightlessness in the water. I float and swim until I begin to shiver.
On land I run to retrieve my towel and run across the sand, wrapping its warmth around me. Exhilarated by the contrasts— the cold dark sea, the bright blue of beach and sky—I push back against the wind.
I replay this memory often. I remind myself to savor the smallest things: the start of buds on the lilac trees, the crunch of wet sand at the beach, the flicker of fireflies in the yard on a summer evening. I remind myself to hold on tight to every moment and witness the beauty of the world.
INSTANT NOODLES 