I had a hard time pulling myself out of the ocean at the end of the afternoon yesterday. We were at San Onofre beach, which is a surfing beach.  I’m still not hip to the surfing terms, things like “low tide” and “high tide” and all those tidal stages in between the two.  I do know we arrived at low tide and watched the waves get bigger as the afternoon went on.

San Onofre is a long beach, and the waves just roll in from one end to the other.  Even when they got bigger they didn’t break until just on top of the shore – they actually started to break farther out and then kind of settled back down until they mushed into the sand without much fanfare.

I was bobbing around in that mellow section, occasionally having to dive through waves that seemed insistent on breaking – but then didn’t.  Mostly I just stood there, neck deep, letting the waves pull my feet off the ocean floor and then gently depositing me back on my feet.  Sometimes the wave had moved me enough towards shore that it deposited me on my butt, which in turn deposited sand in my swimsuit. Oh well, better get back out in the deeper water to clean it out.

This cycle went on for quite some time.  I have learned from experience not to wait until I am nearing exhaustion to get out of the water, so I reluctantly made my way to dry sand.  This morning, though, I am still feeling the effects of that primeval lullaby, rocking in the womb of our existence, the sweet oceans of earth.

When we used to come here camping with the boys, enjoying the beach always included knowing we had to pack up and leave.  There was that little voice in my head that said “make sure you are appreciating every second, because this is just a dream and Cinderella’s carriage will change back into a pumpkin.”   Somehow the Prince found my big ol’ foot and the glass slipper, amazingly, fit.

I’m thinking today that I may have to just blow off everything I “needed” to do today and go back for more blessings.

Next weekend: stand up paddleboard lessons in Dana Point Harbor.  Stay tuned for more of  “As Mary Turns Into SoCal Girl.”