Respect the Beach

The beach has always been my happy place.  My earliest memories of childhood were spent at the Jersey Shore (before Snooki and the gang swooped in) building sandcastles, splashing in the waves and eating soft serve vanilla ice cream cones.

As the years passed, the beach has always been a constant for me.  A day spent in the sand and sea has extremely healing powers for both my mind and body (sun and saltwater are great for my psoriasis, too, so BONUS!).

I see the beach as holy.  It is full of miracles, big and small.  A place where water, land and sky meet.  It is mysterious and huge, but it still feels safe to me.  The beach is the place where I make wishes and feel most connected to life beyond this world.

One of my favorite things to do in a time of despair is to send a letter out to sea (to the universe) asking  for love, forgiveness and clarity.  I did this when I was desperately seeking love and Crush came to me only two months later.  Recently, I write letters and send them to sea when old issues (my weight, Awful, nasty clients) sneak up to bother me from time to time.  I have discovered that if I identify the issue, go to the beach and wish on it, the problems just melt away.  I can actually feel the stress and worry leaving my body (as weird as it sounds).  Mind over matter.

I highly recommend heading to the beach in a time of need.

Lately, I have been heading to the beach often.  It is chilly here, but nothing like Chicago, so I slap on a few layers and take a walk in the afternoon sun.

Sometimes, Crush even joins me, too!

I am to the left, my shadow curves give me away!

I love the walk from the car to the beach.  The anticipation gets me super excited.  It's been the same since I was little, I remember getting in big trouble for running right to the beach without waiting for my family.  For real, how scary must it be to have an almost lost five year at the beach....

SORRY MOM & DAD!

Carolina coast! Wheeeee.....I am at the beach!!!!!!!!

A little gem we found:

A perfect starfish!  He actually found it, so less we and more he in terms of the discovery.

Charleston has many beaches and I like them all for different reasons.  Folly Beach (where these photos are from) can be very loud and hopping in the summer which isn't always my scene as I become grumpier older.  But, it is perfect for long winter walks because there is a lot of beach!

I made the mistake of heading up there to see the fish they catch right off the pier (my dad made me go see) and let's just say that they are NOT cute little fish like Nemo.  I am fine swimming with marine life all around me, but if nothing ever brushed my legs, I would be VERY okay with that, too!