Monday Morning Musings

Posted on June 14, 2021 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

Beach Therapy

 

“I love the ocean, I’m from Nova Scotia,

And summer’s in the air,

And I’m heading to the cabin, where crazy things happen,

When my friends meet me there.”

Oceanside Again – Sons of Maxwell

What’s next?

I’ve been home for two weeks now. My quarantine plan allowed me daily walks so of course, I bumped into a lot of friends. I also had lots of messages, texts and e-mails welcoming me back. I was the recipient of unimaginable generosity as food kept showing up at my door. My daughter was incredibly helpful doing chores and groceries for me. It was, by far, the easiest of my 4 quarantines.

“So, Len. What is your next big adventure?”

Well, for starters, getting out of bed has become a daily adventure. Recently, I was looking at a picture on my wall of me running in the Boston Marathon 10 years ago. I was obviously in the best physical shape of my life. I was running, swimming, going to yoga, and eating properly. I wasn’t even imbibing at the time. I was, indeed, a paragon of virtue. NOT!

Fast forward 10 years. I’m still in reasonably good physical shape (not so sure about the mental part) but on most days my body feels like the aftermath of a triple overtime hockey game. Everything seems to hurt and when I first wake up, I’m as stiff as a board. I literally have to swing my body out of bed. Thank god there are no hidden cameras.

Enough on the joys of aging.

Covid continues to be the boss and will determine what we can and can’t do this week, next week, next month and next year.

So, let me ask you. What would you do if you were a few months shy of 70, were in reasonably good health (not counting arthritis and a weak mind), had no major responsibilities and were single?

My teaching days are over. My teaching days are over. (That is not a misprint… it is for emphasis) My fourth quarantine is over. Summer lurks. I have a clean canvas.

Of course, I plan to spend time with my granddaughters. We will go to the playground. We will go for ice cream at every opportunity. We will go to the beach and pick beach glass. We’ll just hang out because that’s what grandparents and their grandchildren do.

First up for me? Beach therapy.

It would be overly sensational for me to say that my time in the north was traumatizing but it was stressful. I’ve written enough about this before in this space.

I want to walk along the beach and feel the sand between my toes.

I want to lie on a lawn chaise and feel the warm sun on my face.

I want to stand on the bank overlooking St.George’s Bay at sunset and feel the wind tousling my hair (singular and nor plural).

I want to inhale deeply the salt air and exhale the stress inside my body.

I want to gather pieces of broken boats and battered lobster traps and make a big bonfire… and stare at it until sleep envelops me.

I want to sleep in until at least 7:00. If you knew the P.D.s, you would know that that is next to impossible!

Longer term? I’m anxious to put on my travelling shoes again when Covid permits. I have been invited by a great friend of mine from Germany to walk the Portugeuse Camino with him next spring. New Zealand is high on my places to visit before they wheel me into a nursing home.

I hope to paint the blank canvass in the days ahead but in the meantime, I will continue to be grateful for the here and now because that’s all we have.

Have a great week.

P.S. Hours (minutes?) after completing my quarantine and true to my word, I headed to the cottage… where “crazy things happen”. I shared laughs, lobsters, lies, and libations (not necessarily in that order) with a small collection of family and friends.  These are some of the finest people I know. The initial therapy session went swimmingly well!

“And I hope and I pray, we’ll soon make our way,

To this old cabin again.”