B is for Beach Bum

I love the beach. Offer me the beach and I’m yours. My ninth grade boyfriend promised me that the when he married he wanted to own a private beach. Boy did I try hard. Thankfully it didn’t work out and 4 years later I met the man of my dreams. Ironically, he hates the beach. He’s my mountain man. Good thing I love the mountains too. I just love the beach more.


I mean the beach has the ocean. I love the ocean. I love to get deep enough where I can just drift around, rocked by the waves. Being in the ocean is a humbling experience. It is so big and powerful and I am so small and weak. Sometimes the current is so strong; it feels almost useless to fight against it. Other times, the ocean cradles me gently, holding me safely still. My relationship with the ocean mirrors my relationship with God. The days I try to run or fight his will are the days his strong current of love pushes back and sets me on the right path. The days I am in sync with him are the days I feel cradled in love. Many people debate God’s love and kindness vs. his power, force and anger. I think that like the ocean he is the perfect balance.

On a less serious note, I almost drowned one time in the ocean. I was maybe fifteen or sixteen and had been swimming with my girlfriend and some cute boys and their grandfather. We all started to swim in, but I kept getting pushed back from the current. The grandfather sent the boys back in to pull me out. To this day, my mother accuses me of faking drowning to get the boys to help me.

I thought about posting this under O or W since a lot of it deals with the ocean and water, but there are plenty of other great things about the beach as well. I love to lay out and bask in the sun. I love to read and nap on the beach. I love to take walks and pick up pretty sea shells- always with some craft project in mind that I never start. Maybe I’ll use them on my Caribbean table at my wedding reception.