To the Beach!

Just look at that picture! What I wouldn't give to be walking on the beach -- perhaps even dipping feet into the ocean -- right about now!

I'm well aware that some most of us live under a certain level of stress most of the time. To the point that saying, "I'm under some stress right now" is almost meaningless. We cope, though. We get indigestion, we break into rashes, we become accident prone, we suffer headaches and suffer nightmares, we develop muddled thinking; but we cope. Our "normal" level of stress is so high that even one small additional bit of it can feel like an unmanageable burden.

You can prolly guess that I've had another layer of stress recently. I've been in the company of a person who is critical of everyone, much more knowledgeable than anyone else, and puts others down with mean comments at almost every opportunity. It is wearing. In my more charitable moments, I think to myself that this person must have a terrible case of low self esteem, to need to belittle others and thereby elevate self. As time goes on, those charitable moments become fewer. Prolonged contact sometimes provokes inadvertent mimicking behavior that I instantly regret. And just dealing with the person takes up so much of my energy that I feel drained.

In another week, there will be a three-day weekend. I can't spend it away, but I can spend it at home in relaxing ways -- reading my current big, thick novel, taking in a movie with my beloved, sleeping a little bit later in the mornings, sipping pinot noir on the deck, and doing something wonderful with fabric.

That's in another week. For now, though, I'm going to slip away for a few minutes and close my eyes and imagine the beach. The one at Cape May Point. Where there are hardly any people. Where the dunes are lush and the water beautiful. Where one can turn around and note the reassuring presence of the lighthouse and the red roof of the convent. And if I manage to relax enough, perhaps I'll be able to feel the sand between my toes.

Catch ya later . . . .