Sitting on the Balcony, Looking at the Sea....

Good morning!

The sun is shining on the water this morning and it is so bright that there are sparkles everywhere.

 
I wonder if people who live here are in awe of the water, go to sit on the beach and ponder life, or if it just becomes a routine for them and soon they can't remember the last time they sat by the ocean.

It was like that in Mt. Vernon for us.  

When we first moved there, we were drawn to the Ohio River.  The drive down to the river front at the end of Main Street was inviting. We could sit there and watch the barges, see the speed boats, and listen to the sounds of the horns and bells from the water crafts.  The first year we lived there, we drove to the river front often, several times a week, and always a couple of times on the weekend. It was fascinating.

I remember hearing the calliope from the Delta Queen when it docked at the end of Main Street.  The passengers were debark and walk up Main Street and stop at the shops, then marvel at the Posey County Courthouse made of pink stone.  Sometimes we could hear the calliope at our house a couple of miles from the river and hop in the car to drive to the river front to see the boat. 

But then...the magic drifted away.  By the time we left Mt. Vernon 10 years later, Dad would say that he couldn't remember the last time he drove to the end of Main Street and sat by the river front, just watching the boats go by.  He worked at B&W which was ON the river, so he did still see it, but the magic wasn't there.

I remember driving there one last time before we left Mt. V for the last time.  And each time I have been there since we left in 1973, I go to the river front and sit and think about how magical the water was, how there was a sense of peace and calm...and then excitement when I thought about the places one could go on a boat on that river.

Yes, I realize I drifted (pun intended) from the ocean to the river, but I was wondering if those who live here just ignore the ocean because they are so used to it.

Do they ever stop in their daily routines and drive to the beach, just sit, and think?  

Do they walk along the sand, lost in thought, relaxing along the way, marveling at God's handiwork?

Do they just take the ocean and the beach for granted, like they know it will always be there and they can go to visit it anytime, just not today?

And then there are people like us, who drive 13 hours to come to the beach, look forward to listening to the waves and the sounds of the seagulls flying around.  

Those of us who look forward to just sitting and relaxing and pondering life as the waters drift by (and that is what they are doing today).

There is a sense of peace as I look out at the calm water.  There is a sense of majesty and I look across the water to the east and know that there are miles and miles and miles of the same water out there , endless until land finally appears again on the other side of the world.

There is a sense of God's handiwork, that the water is always there, always present, never-ending, that the beach will still be here the next time we visit, whenever that may be.

Just sitting on the balcony....looking at the sea....