I've sat in the lifeguard stand many hours pondering this very idea of beginning a blog. Well, to be more thorough my thought process began on a rainy day. Not a soul on the beach. It was cold and I had yapped God's ear off going on three hours. He practically told me to find something else to entertain my mind with so I began thinking of ways to keep entertained the remaining five hours.
I love to doodle. So I began. A cartoonesque portrait of a lady who yelled at me earlier that week for not "doing something" about the jelly fish in the water. Really. As I began to recollect on the details of that conversation I started giggling thinking about how ridiculous the woman had been. Man was she irate! Called me ugly names, discredited my character, asked for her money back on a rental I had sold her...all at the decibel range of..oh..slightly louder than a Blue Oyster Cult concert circa 1980?
After she left, ears ringing I found myself short of breath, fighting back tears. The rest of the day was a blur bandaging bloody knees, whistling out boats close to shore, asking patrons to hide their beer and reapplying sunscreen.
UNTIL.
A woman who had been renting an umbrella and chair set from me that week interrupted my thoughts with a gift bag containing her favorite romance novel and a bag of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies.
With a sweet smile she said, "You have been a JOY to me this week. Thank you for sharing your stories with me, they made my vacation!" She then asked for a hug and that angel of a woman turned away and left me whole again.
Side note: that is the difference between life-taking words, and life-giving words my friends.
Thanks to that cold, rainy, boring day in the high chair while doodling the Cross Jelly Fish Crusader, I was lead to the thought of the loving Milano Cookie Giver that it grabbed me! I must share these stories.
My intentions of writing this blog are first for selfish reasons. I want to remember these stories years from now! Second, I want to share them with my friends and family. I realized going home for Christmas, people I call loved ones didn't understand the entirety of why Brent and I moved away and what we do day to day. This is to help y'all understand! Lastly, I hope to share the life lessons I've learned from opportunities and obstacles on the beach that have helped me to grow in wisdom and faith.
For anyone who thinks ocean side lifeguards and Bay Watch are synonymous, please allow me to help you think differently. It won't take long.
