the calm before the storm
oh to be able to sit by the sea at sunrise every morning. there is a quiet expansion of the lungs, heart and mind when your given the opportunity to witness the beauty of a beach sunrise. it doesn’t happen nearly often enough, a few times a year, mostly off season - I’m pretty selfish and don’t like to share the magic at that hour of the day with anyone. I do not apologize for those feelings, they are mine and its okay.
since I rarely invite anyone along to enjoy those moments, when I asked my husband if he wanted to go to the beach over night just so we could take grandmother cacao and enjoy the serenity, he didn’t even hesitate to say yes. we Chose only one day, Saturday, to be at the beach as the weather was calling for a nor’easter to come on Sunday and well, we didn’t want to get stuck there. thank goodness we made that decision as they got hit and hit hard. last I heard, the snow total was 24” and the power was out. but, I digress.
we left on Friday night after dark, in the rain; not ideal, but it was what we could do. we arrived in Atlantic highland, nj 2 hours later, had a delicious dinner in a too loud restaurant on the bay and then went to our cottage to hunker down because it was colder and windier there than at home.
the weather reports had said it was going to be 49 degrees on Saturday, 32 at sunrise and I was so excited. I've been to the beach at sunrise when it was 22 and windy as hell, so 32 was a dream date. little did I know that it was going to be 32 degrees and devoid of almost any wind; not sure I could have asked for a better morning.
I was awake a half before my alarm went off which isn’t unusual as the song of the sea witch is always strong in my mind and heart and there was no way she was going to allow me to sleep in. I am ever grateful for that connection, her strength brings me strength.
I got up, set up the plant milk maker with shredded coconut and water and let it get to work. when it was done, I strained it, added a little bit of honey and the cacao that I had pre-chopped and set it back to mixing. I strained it, filled the thermos and away we went and when I tell you that the sea witch, grandmother cacao and grandfather sun didn't disappoint, I am grossly under bragging about them. nary a breeze on the beach, the waves were rhythmic and soothing, the sky was still mostly dark with slight tinges of orange coming through the clouds. my hubby set up his chair, I laid out my beach mat and my blanket and then set to work creating our boundaries - north, south, east and west with my favorite rose incense to shield us from anyone else. it must have worked, because not a single soul showed up until we were just about to pack up and leave…yay us!
I've been telling my hubby for a long time that the sea witch and I are tight, like best friends that rush into each other’s arms after not seeing each other for months on end or 2 days…lol. I think he used to just humor me like he believed me, its okay, I know it sounded crazy. but she and I have this dance we do. I pretend to sit or stand far enough away from her so that she can’t reach me and she laughs at me while stretching the limits and coming to meet me no matter where I stand. saturday morning was no exception. I specifically set us up far enough away so that we didn’t need to worry about, I didn’t want the hubs to get wet too. then, I poured our cacao and walked to a “safe” distance from her last wash up on the beach. I stood there for a few seconds and with out a single ounce of disappointment, she came rushing forward filling in the 20 feet buffer I had built into our visit and over took my feet up above my ankles in what surprisingly wasn’t a cold winter embrace and beyond me by at least another 6’. she was actually warm. I laughed out loud, jumped and decided it wasn’t going to matter if I ran out of the way as it was just too late.
I swear I could hear her laughing with me, possibly at me because I was so cocky at thinking she wasn’t going to reach me. our connection was complete. it had been almost 4 months since I had visited her and it felt so good to be in her presence that I welcomed the hug, the feeling of being whole again rushing into my being. we chatted for a few minutes, then I set about creating a little altar to her on the beach made out of drift wood and shells and little mama magic resin on a charcoal disc. I always love nature altars and I knew that it would wash away later as if I'd never even been there.
I always take a million photos of the sunrise and grandmother cacao like its a photo shoot for international super stars (I mean, they really are internationally known, aren’t they?} and today was no different. I also always take at least one long video because my mom loved the beach and when she couldn't go anymore I'd take videos, set my iPad up in front of her and we’d eat red licorice while it played on a loop and pretend that we were at the beach together. I'm including a link to the video, so go get some licorice so you can pretend you are with us too. btw, if you’re lucky, you’ll see my mom show up front and center to watch the sunrise with me. I love when she does that now.
after a little longer and a second cup of cacao for each of us, the incense long burned out and after grandfather’s beautiful arrival, we packed up our things and headed home. I never get tired of spontaneous sunrise trips. I am glad we were able to get there and home before the storm hit and now I'm dreaming of when we can go back because she calls and I hate to disappoint her.
if you have 3 minutes to relax, click here - Grandfather sun. I encourage you to set yourself up with some cacao, your favorite beverage or some red licorice to set the mood, I think you will agree it just adds to the magic.
boundless blessings,