My Heart's Home. A Second Date.

If you missed the first part of the story, Love at First Sight, you can read it here.

The next morning was bright and warm. The clouds of yesterday had moved on and the sun was putting on a spectacular show as it rose across the water. Most of the family was up already, some had been to the beach and back and some were sitting in rocking chairs on the deck drinking in the last bits of sunrise. I grudgingly looked out over the sand dunes that kept a safe distance between myself and the crashing monster. My backside hadn't let me forget the punishment I had received at our first encounter. I expected to see the water lapping in triumphant, mocking waves gloating over it's victory. What I saw could not have been more of the opposite and I was immediately entranced in the picture. It was as if the cloudy, grey sky the day before had put the Ocean in a bad mood, but now, glittering in the light of the morning sun, the Ocean danced and smiled. Bits of color flashed across it's surface as it picked up the hues from the beautiful morning. The waves no longer crashed and rolled in violent punches but swept and glided as gentle kisses along the shore. How could this be the same Ocean that I had encountered yesterday? What a glorious transformation had occurred while I slept. My next objective was to see which lounging adult I could convince to get me down to the beach in the shortest time possible. I had a date with the Ocean, and this time I wasn't going to walk away unhappy.

The memories I have of that morning on the beach are among the happiest and brightest ones I own. I remember them almost as a dream. Running with the ocean, in and out with the waves. Laughing and dancing in the sun, jumping to 'outrun' the waves and screaming with joy when they caught me. I remember discovering tide pools with little fish and making it my mission to 'save' them in my bucket and return them to the ocean. It was a glorious second date, and I learned that a first impression isn't always the right impression. The rest of the week was beautiful, swimming, flying kites, building castles, collecting shells, but nothing sticks out so vividly as that second day. My heart was set, it was love.