“Be sure and put your feet in the water,” our granddaughter told us when we said we were going to a beach to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. I think she said this because it’s too early in the season to go very far into the water, and it might seem quite enough to just be in its presence. But I did as she suggested, almost immediately after arriving at our hotel that was situated on a private beach.
The surf always calls to me, to stand and gaze at the beauty of it, then move close enough for its incoming movements to roll gently over my toes. When the chill of the cold water moves up my legs it seems to demand that I slow down enough to notice the shells and other treasures constantly being churned up from the deep.
After a brief walk on the beach in the late afternoon we began walking back toward the hotel. Almost before the sounds of the syncopated rhythms of a reggae band reached our ears my body began moving and responding to its message, “Don’t worry, Be happy.” Arriving at the island-themed outdoor bar, I noted there was no formal dance floor, those seem to be a thing of the past nowadays, but it seemed impossible not to dance. I saw a woman moving her body to the music as she stood beside her bar stool and that’s all the permission I needed. I thought of the quote, “If we’re not suppose to dance, why all this music?” I grabbed Rich’s hand and we began dancing, first on a small piece of the wooden walkway and then, on and in the sand. Our feet squished and burrowed rather than gliding on the grainy material, but it served as a playful medium to interchange with the musicians as some grains became airborne. “Every little thing’s gonna be all right,” the singer sang, and I smiled remembering this music and its words were part of the social protest songs of my youth.
It was the smile on my face that first called my attention to the wave of gratitude washing over me, and the joy that permeated my whole body. The gratitude was for this opportunity to dance, and for all the other dances I’ve done with this man who was so young when I first meet him 44 years ago. The joy was a precious celebration of our making it through all those years and all those rough passages when our individual and partnership metal seemed tested to the max. As the sea and the surf attest, the glory is in simply carrying on and being willing to face together, whatever comes next.
