More of the same...

Life has basically been more of the same... except when you add the ocean, life doesn't seem so ordinary. It can't be. There's something so healing about the ocean. I can't explain it. Sometimes I go and sit on the cliff near the ocean, and I just watch. I watch surfers, I watch the old men fly their planes (if they're there), I watch dolphins, boats, kelp, squirrels... you name it. It's become my happy place.


There's a quote I stole from someone that goes: "The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears or the sea." ~Isak Dinesen

I love that. It's so true. For me, anyway.


Here's a minute's worth of that calm.



Love it.

When I'm frustrated (which happens a lot lately), or even just sad and lonely, the ocean somehow makes it all better.

It's been harder than I had hoped getting settled in California... I'm not as mobile and fluid as I used to be... I've moved 24 or 25 times since my parents retired in 1997 and moved back to Utah. I stopped counting... I'd hate to look at someone's physical address book under the entry for "Shelley Smith"... even the name has changed a bit in the past 14 years... It's only been 3 months, and I get that I get some time to move in and make it feel like home, but the closest I've gotten to feel like I'm home is when I'm at the beach.

It's kind of hard to explain, because when I was in Hawaii, I took it for granted. I "hated the sand and hated the beach" as my roommates will attest to... but what I didn't like was going swimming, and feeling that sticky salt between my fingers without a shower in sight. I could probably remedy that by bringing bottled water to rinse off with, but I guess I don't plan that far in advance.

I think I'll be spending a lot more of my lunches at the little divit on the cliffs...