Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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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2 comments:

Jim said...

You know I hate working, so anytime baby, anytime you want to go to the beach I'm ready.

Whiskeymarie said...

Looking good, my dear!

I wish I lived closer to the ocean- nothing makes me happier than laying in the sand with my eyes closed, just listening to the waves...