Sand in between my toes

/ cultivatingjoy

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #195

Sometimes all that’s needed for a full reset is spending an afternoon on the beach with a good friend, relentlessly whipped by the wind, hair flying in all directions, enjoying the sun when it appears from behind the clouds, until every ounce of stress has been blown away.

The beach is quite empty, with just a few kite-surfers performing impressive jumps and skids in the shallows. We sit watching the waves, talking peacefully and enjoying the snacks we brought along, carrots dipped in hummus, crunchy chickpea crisps, fresh figs…

We take tentative steps in the water, only to realise the sea is not that cold and so we walk along the shore, tiny waves lapping at our feet, sun on our cheeks, chatting as we go.

Fine white sand travels in mesmerising sweeps over the surface of the beach, piling onto our blanket and back-packs, grain by grain, until all our possessions are partially buried and every inch of our skin is covered in sand.

When I get home and I shake my belongings out on the balcony, I release sand from the folds of my towel, it comes pouring out of the side pockets of my back-pack, I brush it off my legs as best I can, and I realise I’ve brought home enough sand for a mini-beach of my own.

Only for a little while, as I go about cooking dinner, I leave just a few last grains of sand, safely tucked in between my toes, reluctant to fully let go off that beach feeling.

16 thoughts on “Sand in between my toes”

  3. Spring, 2019. We flew from Seattle to Amsterdam and took the train to Leiden, where we stayed at a fabulous airbnb for 4-5 days. We really loved Leiden – everything about it. The people, the architecture, the Saturday market, the University with its old botanical garden. While in Leiden we took the train to Rotterdam one day. It just happened to be the marathon day – that was fun. We took a crazy water taxi ride over to the Hotel New York, where many people emigrated to America. We took a train to Ghent, Belgium, and stayed there about 4 days, visiting Antwerp, too. Then Germany, where I connected with relatives at a tiny village near Hannover where my grandmother was born. We ended our trip in Amsterdam, where we saw the Rembrandt exhibit (and more) at the Rijksmuseum. We walked up to take a boat over to where the Eye FIlm Museum is – it was too late for that but we had good burgers at the Butcher. A really wonderful but long day! Here’s a post about Leiden:
    https://bluebrightly.com/2019/06/03/eyes-on-leiden/
    This was our first time in Europe and we’re so glad we started and ended our trip in the Netherlands – it’s hard to describe, but there are many things about the culture that we really like.

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    • Wow, thanks for sharing, that sounds like a wonderful trip with lovely memories in these special places! I liked your photos of Leiden:-) It’s a great city, I lived there for a year when I was a student in 2003 and had a blast.
      Now that travel is so restricted due to Covid-19, looking back on past trips really makes me feel grateful for having taken the time to explore and enjoy those places near and far when it was safe.

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