A Good Life
I wake up here before dawn, and it’s a good life I have here. I’ve been living on the west side of Pacific Coast Highway now for almost two weeks and it is hard to believe. It’s not perfect. These condos have no air conditioning and so everyone keeps their windows open and you can hear EVERYTHING. That’s ok. As I write this, I am looking at the ocean. Even if I am not looking directly at it, I can sense its presence. It is in the breeze here. I very much feel at the beach 24/7. There is a reason people like the beach. It’s hard to put into words. It is very much a feeling in your soul. I am always feeling it now.
It’s overcast when I get to the parking lot at 9:30. I am meeting someone today who reached out with an interest in joining me on my swim. I love it when people do that. I just love the fact that people see something that they want and then are not afraid to pursue it. I am very much an introvert. That surprises some people. Once I am comfortable with someone, I can exhibit extrovert behavior but it can take a while to achieve that. I am also good at “faking” it. So, for me, the thought of reaching out to a stranger and asking them if I can accompany them on something that looks interesting is just not something I am likely to do. That said, I think it is a very commendable trait.
So I meet my swim companion and we head down to the beach. He is super friendly and interesting. When we reach the beach, the tide is on the high side and the waves are breaking right on the shore. They are small but look just a little more energetic than they have for the last couple swims. The moment that the water hits our feet, it feels remarkably warm. It’s been incredibly warm lately - mid 70s. Today feels particularly warm. There is basically zero adjustment needed upon immersion.
We get out in the water and start to swim. It’s always odd swimming with someone else. Not in a bad way - just different. When we get past the surf, it dawns on me that I never took my usual shots of the beach because I was caught up in conversation. I turn on my camera and grab a few here. We start to swim south. It’s clear that my swim buddy is not going to have any problem keeping up. In fact, it’s more the other way around.
The water is a beautiful light blue and it feels fairly bouncy today. It’s not at all choppy but definitely far from smooth. It’s fun ot swim with someone. I don’t think I would want to do it every time but there is something about it that occupies my mind. Over the course of the swim we stay relatively together but drift pretty far apart at times. At one point I sort of lose him, but at this point I’m not worried at all. He could probably swim circles around me.
We get to the north end of the swim in front of the Ritz. We can see the sun just starting to come out. We head back to where we started and by the time we get to shore, it has turned out to be a genuinely sunny day. We walk up the stairs and I enjoy listening about this person’s latest leg of life’s journey. It reminds me of my own. How is it that we travel from one season of life to the other? We land in one and it sometimes seems like we will never get to the next, then before you know it everything changes.
