It is at the coast, surrounded by the beautiful large world, where I feel the smallest. Anxieties seem to recede with the waves and the sound of the ocean's rhythm.
Of our three children, one has already moved cross-country. And now, just days before our family splits further apart--Ben joining his wife in Chicago and Jessica moving to New York to begin graduate school--visiting the beach is just the right tonic.
This is a place to think things through, fortify one's decisions, and to renew one's strength.
It's a place to be together for a little while...
...and to wonder at the spectacle of the natural world.
It's a lesson in tenacity.
But it is good to have some levity at times like this, and I can always count on Ed and Reub to bring their own brand of joy and enthusiasm.
There is no happier animal on the planet than Eddy, with his tennis ball, at the beach. He and his buddy Reub are gloriously oblivious to the magnificence all around, and in spite of that--or perhaps because of it--they never fail to bring a smile.
Oh Kerry.It doesn't matter how often family moves away - it's always so hard to have them on the other side of the country. Yes, great places to visit, Chicago and New York, but you can't go to one place and visit back and forth between homes, can you? When did Crystal move to Chicago? Does this mean that MAYBE we'll see more of them??? Have a safe road trip. Wish I could feed my soul at the beach with you. I LOVE that beach!
ReplyDeleteKerry, such a hard time in your life when the nest starts to get emptier and they fly a long way away. You will adjust because this is the nature of things, but crying for a while is also OK.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, beautiful post. Every word, every photograph. Just lovely.
ReplyDeletethank you
i am thinking of you all this week...i have spent a few new year's at the ocean beach, for all those very same reasons...it seems to put all in perspective.
ReplyDeleteYep, if you live near Chicago there will definitely be a higher probability of seeing B&C.
ReplyDeleteYou know though, only half of me is sad. As Tabor says "this is the nature of things." It would be far sadder if they never left at all, never spread those wings, never created their own lives.
Kerry, I have been getting you totally wrong. I have been looking at the 'other' blog, hoping for more information and not getting any.
ReplyDeleteI have been here before, maybe even left a comment at the time, but somehow I thought this was a 'joint' kind of blog, with fellow writers 'Ed and Reub'.
How very stupid of me.
I promise I am a fast learner and you will see lots more of me. If only to admire your 'fellow writers'. My Benno doesn't help me much, he usually just lies behind my chair and stops me shifting the chair. He is a large labrador and very hard to persuade to move himself.
As for family leaving, well they do, that's what we have children for. To have them, to turn them into worthwhile adults and when they finally become bearable, they leave us.
Okay, so now I am following you. Will that work just the same as if I were showing up on the avatar package? Sorry, you must think me a complete idiot - I probably am - but I have never even seen that there is the follower button on the blogs.
ReplyDeleteFriko, to tell you the truth, Ed and Reub haven't been such a big help lately, although they occasionally leave me a critical remark; sorry for the confusion!
ReplyDeleteAhh, my kids are all quite bearable right now, hence the sadness at their inevitable departure. I suppose if I had an unbearable child that person would insist on staying? Probably.
And oh, yes indeed I do see that you are now a follower! Thank you! I am an inconsistent blogger, however, so you'll have to bear with me. One day I write about baking powder, the next day retrievers, the next day it's the Inquisition.
I love those flying ears and the jump looks pretty familiar. Dogs enjoying themselves, one of my favorite things.
ReplyDeleteSue
Morgan, Tsar and the Porties