365 Things To Smile About Day 15. The Beach!

I have never been a beach bum. I burn too easily and get too hot. Today though I spent two hours on the beach alternating between sitting under an umbrella and jumping the waves and enjoying the craziness and wildness of the Atlantic Ocean at Vitginia Beach!!

I haven't been there since I was 12 and found the rush and push of the waves exhilarating!!  Being sent flying forward as you ride a wave into shore or jumping in the air as a wave crests around your shoulders is exciting and thrilling!  The cool breeze and the warm surf was a perfect combination!  I left there beautifully exhausted and slightly burnt!  A gift from chemo is the ability to burn through several layers of sunscreen!  But I didn't care!

After a rest at the hotel and a delicious dinner with friends I had a brand new experience that I can't wait to repeat!  Walking along the beach at night!  The crash of the surf and feel of the water rushing over your feet and ankles, tugging at you to follow as it slips back out into the night, is a feeling I can't totally describe. There is a calming peacefulness to this dark but noisy stroll. Like the waves are washing away at your anxiety, fears, sadness and disappointments.  There is a privacy and solitude that is far from lonely out on the dark beach. It's a calm that I can't wait to return to someday. 

I'm leaving the beach tomorrow and I can say I'm ready. It's been a pretty exhausting trip!  But I'm so glad I took this weekend with friends and can't keep the smile off my face remembering it!  😊