PHOTOS: Mary van Balen
“Exultation is the going
of an inland soul to the sea
Past houses past headlands
Into deep Eternity.” Emily Dickinson
Such was the gift my daughter gave to me last week in celebration of my 60th birthday. The deep spiritual connection of my “inland soul” to sea is well known to family and friends, and for me, time at the beach is more retreat than vacation. This trip was no different.
From the moment she called with the invitation to spend a few days on the Outer Banks, staying in a hotel room with an ocean view (a first for me), details fell into place: This gift was meant to be.
My work schedule included the following weekend off; a friend offered to switch my Monday hours for hers on Thursday, allowing me to stay longer; air fare was affordable.
As I told my daughter, anticipation spread the joy of her gift over the week before as I grinned through every day, greeting customers with sparkling eyes, a wide smile, and interminable good humor. By Friday afternoon, I needed reminded to hand receipts to customers and I pulled wrong-sized bags out of the drawers. When workmates helped remedy my mistakes, I smiled some more and explained my absentmindedness: “In a few hours, I’m going to the beach!”
I packed for cool weather, but needn’t have taken a jacket since temperatures hovered around 80F during the day while we walked miles along the beach. I even ventured into to water to receive the salty baptism of the sea.
On Sunday we saw five weddings in various stages: 10.10.10. I had forgotten. We walked quickly trying not to clutter wedding photographs and wondered about the desirability of having strangers in swimsuits or casting fishing lines appear in one’s wedding album.
I found shells at Coquina Beach and as usually happens, some particular type, different each trip, spoke to my soul. While I collected fragments worn by decades of salt, sand, and waves, ideas for using them in retreats and presentations filled my head.
As wonderful as time at the ocean was, equally wonderful was time spent with my daughter. As our children grow into adults and come home for visits, a mother’s time with them is squeezed between errands and visits they make with old friends. Three days with my youngest was a delight. We talked, laughed, slept in, watched a little tv, drank wine, tried new restaurants, and checked out the Wright Brothers Memorial.
I had the pleasure of seeing her office and meeting one of her bosses. You who have adult children know the joy of seeing them in their own element, learning about their work, and meeting the people who fill their lives.
I am home again in landlocked Ohio, but gifts of the ocean remain in my heart wrapped in the love of my daughter.
© 2010 Mary van Balen
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