Early January Seawall Awakening

It is Wednesday and a day off work. I had no plans for the day until I checked voice mail. There were 2 messages, the first from my daughter Chaya who will be visiting me this evening and the second from my son Kadir, asking if he could come over after school today.

I don’t get that many calls from my “too busy” 14 year old son these days and so a visit from both will be welcome.

I went through my usual morning rituals and after coffee I decided to hike up to Safeway to stock up on a few supplies.

It was a cloudy, cold day and when I got out the door I was relieved to see that the rain was holding off and decided to make the best of this situation and take my seawall walk to 2nd Beach. I wear several layers of warm clothing in this kind of weather and as soon as I felt the cold air on my head, I pulled out my navy wool watch cap to help seal in a bit more body heat.

I walked down to Sunset Beach at the foot of the hill and making my way along the winding path by the Aids Memorial I soon found myself heading along the seawall in a westerly direction.
In this kind of weather there were only a few walkers, a few joggers and most of the folks on the walk were exercising Fido. The dog, not the phone.

Pedestrians thinned out even more as I rounded the path by the Parks Board offices. The pavement was puddle strewn with sandy, muddy, mulch piles which I avoided as much as possible and passing a puddle I could see that the rain was starting again, the telltale rippling pockmarks appearing in the water and so I pulled up the hood of my jacket to prevent getting too wet.

Closer to 2nd Beach I became aware of the steady rhythmic unhurried drone of the small surf which had not been evident until now.

It was a cold walk and I picked up the pace as I rounded the pool area by the concession stand. I took the loop with the pool to my left and when I turned back in an easterly direction for my return the cloudy blue green water over the sandy seafloor revealed its beauty to me, and I paused to look into it. I let my energy drift with my gaze into the depth of the water.

Farther to the southeast the sun was trying to break through the clouds, brightening the sky considerably albeit without real success.

A day that only a half hour earlier had seemed drab and dreary was suddenly filled with a real vibration of magical aliveness.

Had I let the cold day keep me in, I would have missed this experience.