The Journey Inward

I’m up early out here because my daughter and her husband are pre-dawn risers. One was out for a walk with the pups, the other for a run, so I made my way down the Mission Beach Peninsula (7 miles round trip) while talking to my fellow mother-in-law, one of my very closest friends! We often forget our kids are married! It was a beautiful backdrop for our conversation. We hung up halfway through my walk back, and I stayed present to the Sights and Sounds of Nature, including the humans! My alertness was rewarded by walking perhaps a 10th of a mile parallel to a pod of dolphins diving in and out of the water, just 20 feet or so beyond the surfers. I was so delighted by this little group frolicking along, and was disappointed when I could not keep pace with them.

What I love about my walks is that they allow my mind to stay open so that thoughts come and go as they will, almost lazy Susan style, circling back around from time to time.

It made me think of spiral curriculum design, where concepts stay fresh by bringing them back around and deepening their complexity each time.

I stopped for an iced chai tea latte (that my youngest daughter introduced me to the other day). It was such a treat to sip the refreshment and watch the waves roll in a predictably unpredictable way.

I came home to cleaning frenzy and food prep cooking for the week. These two have quite a system down! Next up was schoolwork for all of us. I set up on the back porch and enjoyed the beautiful weather and surfers passing by on their way to the beach (.15 of a mile down the road), surfboards under their arms or up on their heads.

After lunch, we set off on a beautiful drive up the coast and my son-in-law narrated the many towns we passed. We got up high into the mountains so we had a bird’s eye view of the coast. We stopped at a dog beach in Del Mar to let the pups enjoy sand (very much!) and surf (not so much)! I collected my rocks and shells to bring home. (I have containers all over my house of these keepsakes I’ve collected from beaches in and out of this country. Little scrolls of paper indicate the when and where and who.)

After dinner, I set off for a sunset walk along Pacific Beach. The sun was setting so perfectly, but a bank of clouds served as buffer between the sun and ocean, so I did not get to watch the full trajectory of its disappearance.

Back home, we watched a crime drama, and the kids headed to bed as I headed to the shower. Back to binging The Four Seasons for me tonight!

Photos: by LA