Brightest Moment 2014

A few days ago, my close friend Janet and I were talking about our brightest moments of 2014. She shared hers and asked what mine was.

I didn't need time to ponder. The brightest moment of my 2014 was my husband Daniel and I swimming together at Fort DeSoto Park, Florida.

The day was hot, of course, but the breeze cooled the air. The water was mostly clear, only a few tangles of sea weed here and there. The waves, plentiful and playful. We jumped and swam and laughed and laughed, again and again. Sometimes, the waves dragged us under just a bit, but all in good fun.

I loved it, and I loved it even more because I shared it with Daniel. We went to Florida, just the two of us, in celebration of his birthday. But it was also a celebration of me and my origins, as I grew up in Florida, swam at that very beach, in fact, many years ago, frolicking in the waves, pretending I was a mermaid...

Going there was a homecoming, not just to the place I come from, but a homecoming to myself.

Being in the water, the day bright and clear, every sense engaged, brought back the girl I was, and it was so good to remember, to savor the memory of what the sea has always meant to me.

And to share that with the man I love, my best friend, my every-single-day hero, my real home.

Talk about a bright moment!

Oh, how happy I am to have that treasure in my memory.