the FOURTH of july, a beach, lots of sun, and a personal point of pride:

this july 4th,

in celebration of all things american-like 

and such,

tim and i took a wild swing outside the zone,

and went to the beach.

no restaurants.  no shopping.  no parties.  

the beach.

nature.

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now, i grew up "on the beach".

my grandparents always lived on one island or another 

(st croix, st. simons, etc.)

so i was a sun n surf baby.

but as i've grown, i've drifted from the grit and glory of these things,

and forgotten how much i missed it.

the sound of the waves,

the dull roar of the beach breeze,

snippets of conversations, laughter, moments from others,

the WEIGHT of the sun on your skin.

i was close to tears at how much i'd missed it.

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of course, going with jim and lyle didn't hurt.

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i walked down the beach by myself,

much the way my grandfather and i did when i was little, 

not speaking, just absorbing.

granted, i felt like i was being followed . . .

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turned out it,

was tim.

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and,

in more expected vanity,

this is what i was most thankful for on july 4th:

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that three years later,

after losing 57 pounds through diet and exercise,

i had pretty much kept it off.

not a model body,

but damn proud to be at the beach,

in this shape,

coming up on my next birthday.

happy independence day, kidlets.

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