and baby makes 6!

La isla bonita

Bill and I were sitting in our room yesterday, talking randomly, and I said. “You know what I can’t wait for?”

And he replied “A warm beach” without missing a beat. Those were the exact words floating in my head.

Sometimes it is a bit spooky how much we know each other.

There seems to be a battle going on here. Warm and Cold are fighting it out, and it appears that Warm is winning.

These cold fronts blow through, leave us chilled for 1/2 to 1 day, then the warm tropical air blows out the cold, and we are back into shorts and tanks. Ahhh!

Soon our quiet evenings on our back porch will return. We can sit and visit in the warm tropical air as the blue herons fly through our yard and the whistle ducks fly home to their inland pond.

There will be many weekend nights spent on the boat, rising early to sail off to some anchorage along the islands of the Texas coast….returning with the setting sun to dock the boat, tie her up and sit at the marina’s outdoor tiki bar enjoying a margarita and some calypso music.

With all of this the temperature in the Gulf is slowly creeping up. This is one thing that I look forward to in the spring. It means the beach will be warm as well.

I want to share a couple of very random images with you. I take a kazillion pictures, most are pics of little moments in time of our life. Probably meaningless to most, but important to me. You may have seen this one:

….it is a sight I know of so well….Bill working on a boat. The open toolbox in the cockpit, boat parts everywhere. The odd smell of the toolbox…..greese mixed with the metalic smell of nuts and bolts. Taking apart a boat and putting it back together the way it suits you is a common practice among sailboat owners. There is always something that needs fixing and Bill loves to tinker with the boat. Images like this remind me of summer, racing, the sound of wind whistling through the rigging, and the joy of being outside.

This next one is of my boys:

…..it was so hot that day. The smell of warm wood from the dock floated in the air, mixing with the other smells of the ocean. The boys were watching trigger fish feasting on the barnacles attached to the pilings. They were also dropping small pieces of wood into the water and having “boat” races. Later they would take off in the dinghy, exploring the little islands outside of the marina, the musty smell of the marsh surrounding them, crabs skittering through the reeds along the shore.

That red cooler was full of sparkling water, Sprite, Tecate and snacks of fruit, cheese and pico dip. When I put my hand on Cody’s back, it was so hot from the sun beating down on him. My kids get so tan here at the coast, no matter the amount of sunscreen I slather on them.

That picture reminds me of summer. The hot, Texas summers at the coast that I thrive on.

Things are warming up here for sure, and with that will come a summer full of adventures on land and the sea. Paddling out into the surf with the hot sun on my back. Dolphins surfing off the bow of our boat. Taking the boat offshore and living in it for our vacation. There will be islands to explore, shells to seek, campfires on the beach, and the simple enjoyable gift of just being together.

It won’t be perfect. There will be work for Bill, screaming toddlers, bickering boys, bills to be paid, the rainy season, PMS, and a whole host of unpleasantries. But that is life, you know? The difficult is always mixed in wth the good.

I have come to realize that there is an Endless Summer. It lives in your head and heart….an island inside of you. It is a choice that you must make, not a place to visit. It comes with the attitude of gratefulness. It is la isla bonita.

I am seizing that. Won’t you?

There shall be
eternal summer
In the grateful heart.
-Celia Thaxter