Auld Lang Syne

Fitting somehow that my and our 2012 began in my parents' Garden City condo on the Carolina Coast. Dee readers know how I love the beach. Sixty five and seventy degree days and mild nights this trip gave us simply unbelievable December/January weather. I have decided I especially love beach jaunts in the winter.....no swimsuits required! (Ummm....note to readers: reference the previously penned "Jiggly" blog!)

I yet do not understand how or why the beach revives my spirits and feeds my soul. I simply know that it does. And, I know I am not alone in feeling the somewhat and sometimes inexplicable pull of the ocean. Herman Melville wrote, "As everyone knows, meditation and water are wedded forever." And it is true. Here I find time to think, to remember, to write.

I recall the too numerous to count beach trips of my early years, the sandy summer vacations with my family in this very Garden City spot. On those early trips there were first the four of us. Then Donna's arrival meant five shellseekers, soaking up the subdued fun of the sunsplashed south strand. The times and trips were easy and uncomplicated. A night out might consist of nothing more than putt-putt or, on a special night, the tiny local amusement park. Many a day ended with scrumptious shrimp dinners and those "dee"cidedly decadent hush puppies and honey butter for dipping. Surely my more than ample hips and thighs can be traced at least in part to origins here at the bountiful tables of Lee's Inlet Kitchen...still in business to this very day.

JFK, whose great love of and respect for the ocean is well-documented, wrote, "We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch, we are going back from whence we came." Particularly on this visit, one year to the day removed from my mother's passing, I felt this sentiment. I felt the pull of returning to that from whence I came. I felt the pull of the Atlantic. I felt the pull of a place my mother loved.

And indeed, my mom did love this place. Though her family complained frequently in later years that updates were definitely needed, I believe she found comfort and a sort of solace in its never changing. I commented to Drew that I regretted my mother, his grandmother, never saw the beautiful facelift we finally gave her beloved beach getaway place. In response, Drew pointed upward and said, "But Mommy, she did see." Ah yes, even eleven year old Drew "gets" that there is something very special here.

I think, for me, in this year, the most powerful and needed emotion to be drawn from the ocean is hope....hope for a brighter year ahead, for the success and health of my children, for the continued strength of my family. Perhaps my favorite ocean quote should then be, "The sea will grant each man new hope." From a true daughter of the sand, sea, and surf to one who most definitely knew the power, hope, and majesty of the ocean, I thank you, Christopher Columbus. I trust the sea will keep its promise and grant a new year...... of hope.

(Photography by Kate)