Monday, March 10, 2008

An Unexpected Break

Meet my friend Lynn.



On Sunday, she caused something very unexpected. She called me on the phone and said, "I need a mental break--Let's go roller blading at the beach."

Roller blading at the beach? The beach was a 45 minute drive. Besides that, I had a lot of stuff to do around the house.

But then again....the idea of roller blading at the beach sounded so fun...so...so...wind-in-the-face wild!

(do I look wild?)

Off we went with reckless abandon.

We skated for miles along the sandy sidewalk.

Finally we took our wheels off, and went for a walk. Below, Lynn pauses to watch some fishermen.
(click for a closer look--City of Long Beach in the background)

I splashed through the water.

(

We ran along the beach. The soft earth massaged our feet. Our hearts pounded. Anxieties melted away in the wind. And God's breath brushed our faces, as if to say, let go of your burdens...let them blow away in the wind.

We arrived home at 4:30 p.m. As soon as I walked in the door, Mozart greeted me. "Can you help me?

"Can you take this down and have it copied?" He handed me a thick stack of music.
"I'm trying to get ready for a session tomorrow and I falling behind."

Fifteen minutes later I was at Office Depot, pushing papers through...a copy machine. And dealing with paper jams. But for some reason I felt calm.

I remembered the blue rolling waves, the sand under my feet, and the wind blowing softly across my face.

3 comments:

Diane Viere said...

What a great idea! A mental health break!

And the place where you live offers so much! Mountains, hiking, nature, the beach!!!! Stunning!

Rollerblading????????? I think I am simply a decade too old to start a new hobby! Good for you for being able to stand up...no less blade for miles!

I fear, my friend, that when we meet someday IRL, our mental health break will be a bit more sedate. Do you like Star Bucks or Carabou?

Diane

Susan Skitt said...

What a FANTASTIC day! I was just thinking, "I can't wait until we get some warm weather. I soooo miss my rollerblading!"

I blade at the top of a dam near a resevior at a County Park. One time, many years ago while on vacation at the Jersey Shore, I got to rollerblade on the boardwalk by the beach... oh, now I'll have to make sure I get to do that this summer :)

P.S. I linked to your Hubble post today. I hope that's okay :)

Much love,
Susan

Dawn said...

I am so glad you had such a great break - short and sweet! And that the job that faced you when you got home didn't rattle you!

Diane's comment tickled my funny bone - we have to plan something fun and SAFE for us to do together! I don't do coffee -- HMM