SNEAK AWAY

It's winter at the beach, a wonderful time to sneak away and be here.  Mr. Wiggles is enjoying his pillows by the door, maybe remembering many years ago when he was a rescue dog in foster care here in Carteret County and I adopted him; a good day for both of us.  It's low tide and the waves are crashing far out, with rain falling and wind making every dog-walk an adventure.  If its too windy Wiggles has been known to tip over when he lifts his leg. The street is empty, not a single other renter or resident this cold February weekday. If you only come to the beach in the summer, try a February visit to the NC Crystal Coast. Or whatever coast is near you.  You may know the joys of winter beach walks already. 

The sun here sets over the Atlantic in winter because Pine Knoll Shores faces south off a jut of land.  Yesterday it was all oranges and yellows splayed across the horizon and upward into the sky.  But today there is no sun.  All is gray:  air, water, sand.  When visibility is low the ocean seems louder, nearer, like a phantasmic surprise rising out of the darkness, which is closing in as I write. 

Is there any time of year that doesn't have its own magic?  It's beautiful when the horizon disappears.  I can barely tell where water becomes sky.

So much of my life is not magical. It must be the same for you.  Work or lack of it, family concerns (shorthand for chronic fears about those we love), the daily news which, in all truth, is one depressing thing after another . . . . We deserve a break.  Not always possible, but if it is we need to grab the chance.  Our New Jersey family goes to visit the Florida family; that's smart.  But for me, I drive just 3 1/2 hours to the winter beach. What is near you?  Woods? Water? The excitement of a city? Now may not be the time, but if it is, what can you do, at home or away, to nourish yourself?  Thinking of all of us, Nina Naomi