We live here
We woke up early this morning, as we do every morning because apparently, we’re old & we don’t sleep in even when we can. This morning though it was still dark out and neither of us was ready to start the day, so we finished watching The Stranger on Netflix (I HIGHLY recommend this series. It’s based on a Harlan Coben book but doesn’t follow the exact story line.) When we finished the show, we decided to drive down to the Turkey Creek trails to get our first steps of the day in. Usually, we stay on the boardwalk but today we collectively agreed we were ready for one of the hiking trails. As we came to the fork between the shorter trail & the longer, we chose the longer. This trail was beautiful. There was so much nature around. Wild mushrooms, turtles, birds, & butterflies were just a few of the things we encountered on the trail. To me, the most interesting thing was the bent trees that I can only assume has happened over the years from hurricanes. These treks, while incredible because of the outdoorsy-ness, also hold a special place in my heart. This is our true family time. No phones are allowed, I did sneak mine to take pictures though…don’t tell on me. We have the best conversations & generally end up making plans for a trip or making a family decision on what will be the next upgrade in our house. I almost always come out of these situations with a new story idea, & today was no different.
Later in the day we had the usual Sunday chores to deal with before Amy had to work but as I was doing a bit of grocery shopping, a miracle occurred! Amy was offered undertime & accepted so even though the chores weren’t complete & I hadn’t written a single word yet, we packed it up to hit the beach because there is nothing the Joseph family loves more than the beach. We are a Florida family through & through, to be more accurate we’re a beach family but there aren’t too many things in our great state that we don’t love. One of our MOST favorite things is posting pictures of our beach/river/Disney excursions in flip flops & tank tops in the middle of February when our “up north” family is shivering from the negative degree weather. (We love you Fam, you know you’re welcome here any time!)
We pulled into the beach parking lot across from Patrick Air Force Base around 2 PM, grabbed our gear & headed down to find a spot. The beach was fairly empty, so we didn’t have to head too far down to find some seclusion. The sun was still high in the sky but the breeze coming off the water added a wintery chill. Stephen immediately stripped off his shirt and rushed towards the water, as I’m yelling at him to come back because even in February, we have to wear sunscreen. Once we’re settled, music playing, I dig into the beach bag to grab my book. I find myself disappointed because I forgot to grab one. I reminded myself that this was an impromptu trip & I will most certainly survive this one trip without a book. I settled back in my chair & let the sun wash over me. The beach is our happy place, the place where it’s the loudest but the most peaceful. Amy & I sit in a comfortable silence as we watch Stephen slam into one wave after the next. This is why we live here.
Beach therapy, we call it. There isn’t a single time I can recall being at the beach when it hasn’t improved my mood. In the years Amy & I have been together some of our most important conversations have happened at the beach. It was the first place we said, “I love you.” It doesn’t get old, not for us. Not the sunsets or the sunrises, not the pelicans swooping down into the water to grab fish, or the dolphin & shark sightings. I will admit it the chill was a little overbearing after a while, but I do have a little color on my face & shoulders. I guess we’ll try again next weekend when it’s supposed to be in the high 80s.
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