Wave Racer

Today is beautiful. I went running on my beach. It was rather fortuitious. I had the assignement of driving Nate to foootball practice, and decided to take advantage of the trip down the hill to hit the gym. Swamped, and stressed with the arduous task of selecting an auto insurance provider, I waited until the last possible minute to get ready to go. Racing around, trying to get changed, grabing my ipod, and throwing back my hair, I get out the door in record time. Nate and I race down Wildcat road, screaming as if we are on a roller coaster. More often than not he offers some dating advice, and rolls his eyes at me. We get into town when it hits me that in my hurry to get out the door, I forgot two major things. The key to the gym, and running shoes. Oh snap. "You could just go run barefoot at the beach," Nate offers. This is why I love him. I drop him off, and head to Centerville Beach, my Somewhere Only We Know place.

It was a perfect day. Slight breeze, sun shining, and not too many people. I turn up Chris Brown's "Forever" and start running. I haven't run in sand for a while, and it surprised me at how quickly it wore me out, but I didn't care. The sound of the ocean waves hitting the coast, combined with the smell of the sea salt made it all worth it. I looked into those foamy sea green waves and smiled. I kept running passing some hopeful looking fishermen, and watched some birds flying low on the water. I started running closer to the waves. When a particularly forceful wave would crash into the sand, I ran faster trying to escape the white foam from rushing around my bare feet. This game took me back 16 years to another sandy beach near Los Angeles, California. I was 7. My family and I were on the vacations of all vacations. I had just met Pocahontas and flown on a pirate ship; we had gone to Disneyland. But that evening, we watched the sunset from the beach. I remember thinking that life would never get any better. But it's our game that I remember most. We would get as close to the incoming waves as we could, and race back as they would rip across the hot sand towards our feet. Running, laughing, falling into the salty water, this is one of my favorite childhood memories.

Today I played that game again, smiling inspite of myself. I come to a tower of rocks, wondering if I would be able to outrun the crashing waves beating against the ancient rocks. I edge closer and closer, but am no match for the elements. The wave crahses over me, soaking me head to toe. Sand is in my hair, my eyes, my mouth. I laugh, and run the other way. The ocean has won the game again. I pray that my iPhone isn't damaged, assess it quickly, and without finding too much damage, run back the way I started. The hot sand begins to burn my feet, but I don't care. My heart is full of memories, my hair full of sand, and my face full of sun. It was a good day. Thank you, and goodnight.