How I Got Beyond the Rain

Well, we set out once more for a last hurrah a week or so ago, a nice quiet relaxing week at the beach with family and some friends; something we always look forward to; the familiar, the rest, the reconnections. We usually want the beach experience to be perfection because if it's not, what else is there to do! I do not go to the beach to watch Netflix! Well, what happens when it's not perfection? Can we easily put aside any disruptions and missteps in our plans? Sometimes I do better than other times. I think I have finally learned to put the fluctuating weather patterns in someone else's hands, as much as I love the warmth and sunshine. I no longer look ahead to our destination for weather because there is not a darned thing I can do to change it. I pack accordingly, for all elements and hope for the best climate the surroundings can offer us on our journey. If I anticipate disaster, does it help me to accept it better? Not really! So, while I might whisper my little "come on sunshine" mantra at the start of our week, I let it be. Then I can be oh so pleased when it's a perfect sunkissed day. This said you'd think, well, what else is there then? How about Hurricane Bill with it's whipping winds and rain, two guests who had to cancel visits after I had shopped accordingly, being covered in a horrible case of poison ivy, among only a couple of unexpected setbacks. When things like this occur I try to run a loop of that sometimes annoying little jingle from Monty Python that John DiBella has adapted as his mantra, "Always look on the bright side of life!" Ba....humbug, I say. But really, once the storm passed, so to speak, I had adjusted to the demands made on me and my family due to weather, sickness, cancellations and it really wasn't that bad. After I was once again feeling more like myself after being loaded up with heavy medications, creams and potions, I was able to get over that hump in the road and the sun did shine. Beautifully! The best of the best was a phone call from a friend back home that let us know things would move ahead in a positive way! My youngest, for his last year in elementary school, got the teacher of his dreams! Nothing can spoil that! We will return home and life will be good, rain, shine, broken bones and all! Thanks for reading! Miriam