I stopped down at the beach before work this morning. It was absolutely beautiful, as always, and I thought about how grateful I am for this life of mine.
And I couldn’t help but think that this was the perfect way to spend my last day as “60” and the perfect way to get ready for my next trip around the sun tomorrow.
I’m truly grateful for my life, no matter what it’s handed me.
My prayer is to take each year around the sun that I’m gifted to have and do whatever I can to change someone’s life for the better and to help make this world a better place.
And my prayers every day are for peace for all of us.
Every so often Mother Nature smiles down on the Jersey Shore in the middle of winter and gifts us with a springlike day. The temperatures were well into the 60’s, baby blue skies and plenty of sunshine! And what do all us locals do when we wake up to such a day? We head to the boardwalk and walk the beach.
Yesterday we took off before noon and strolled down the boardwalk into one of my favorite towns, Asbury Park. We had lunch at the Seahorse, which is located in Convention Hall, complete with live music. We were surrounded by many vendors at the Valentine’s Market inside the Grand Arcade. It was the perfect day!
It seemed as though everyone was on the boardwalk, sitting on the beach, or strolling through the town. What a breath of fresh air in the middle of winter to be outside without a coat and hat, just a hoodie.
It was a wonderful surprise to have a day like that in the middle of winter but it was no surprise to wake up this morning to freezing temperatures, gray skies and light snow.
You never know when you’re going to step into your next adventure.
A small group of us went out to dinner on Saturday night in Asbury Park. The dinner was over the top delicious and the company was even better. I couldn’t have planned a more perfect evening.
After dinner we walked across the street to a very cool store called “The Severed Wing.” As I walked to the back of the shop there she was, a woman that I’ve seen on social media known as “the lady on the corner.”
And she is “the lady on the corner,” an interesting person who I was grateful to have met and happy that she snapped this picture of us. She has her own style of photography and she can be found on “the corner,” taking pictures and meeting people. I felt like I had just met a celebrity.
You never know where you’ll find your next adventure…
After a good night’s sleep I woke up this morning feeling like my old self!
Funny how those moods sneak up on us without warning, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned is not to get too upset with them or let them stress me out. They come for a reason and sometimes it’s best not to fight them, but to surrender to them until they’ve passed.
And that’s what I did yesterday.
I’m grateful for that day yesterday and as I always told my children: “It won’t be like this forever, just for today.”
And I was right.
Here’s to the down days, the up days, the good days and the bad. Here’s to every single day that we can experience life and all that comes with it. Here’s to being grateful for all of it.
As I stepped out of my back door to go to work I had to stop and take a deep breath! The smell of the salt air was so strong and smelled so wonderful that I took a drive down to the beach. The skies were stormy and the seas were rough but still an absolutely beautiful sight to see.
I’m grateful for feeling better this morning and I’m grateful for this magical place that brings me so much joy: the beach.
Thank you for all your support during my “down day.” I appreciate it and your comments helped me through.
I have to say that The Blizzard of 2022 here at the Jersey Shore was something to see! Drifts of over 5 feet, white out conditions due to hurricane force winds, and almost 2 feet of snow! I was going to make it a “snow day” but decided that after working on my novel so much for the last few weeks I’d make it a “snow weekend!” I did get some editing done but decided to cook some comfort food, watch a series on Netflix and relax!
And it was wonderful!
There’s something about knowing that you can’t go out, that the roads aren’t plowed enough to drive, and that there’s so much snow piled on and around your car that you can’t even begin to shovel.
I think it’s the Universe’s way of giving us a day off in which we don’t feel guilty about watching television or reading a good book or a day of doing nothing if that’s what we choose.
It’s a “guilt free” day knowing that you have to stay home. The choices of what we do with a “snow day or weekend” are all ours and it’s nice to enjoy them without the guilt of thinking of all the things we should be doing!
I loved my “snow weekend” and am so grateful to have had two days with no guilt and no pressure! It was two days of a bit of writing, a lot of cooking and one filled with much peace and serenity.
I think that we should all have a “guilt free” day every so often!
(Here’s an excerpt from my book, “Each Breath Along The Journey”)
I write about this subject in one form or another every year, and this year is no exception.
Every year I notice that as the New Year approaches, people start talking about their “resolutions.” There’s things they want to do and things they want to change in their life so they make a list of “resolutions.”
I threw that concept out years ago because to me, resolutions were nothing more than making promises to myself that I couldn’t keep. They were goals for sure, but seriously, how many of us actually stick to those resolutions? I always tried, failed at some, then beat myself up for not doing what I had wanted.
So, years ago I realized that the only way for my life to change was by learning the lessons that life had handed me, by learning from my mistakes, learning from my experiences, and so I decided to have my “New Year’s Revelations!”
I ask myself some important questions throughout the month of December: What opened my eyes this past year? What did I learn about myself? What type of people are in my tribe? Am I taking care of myself and loving myself enough or giving too much of myself away? And what do I need to let go of that has no place in the New Year coming up and in my life?
These are the questions to ask yourself and answer honestly. You see, when you have those “revelations” about yourself and the year that’s about to come to an end, you take those lessons and truths with you. You begin the New Year with a better understanding of yourself, your life, your situations and the people in it. When you do that, the New Year will bring all that you want it to: love, happiness, joy, adventure, new beginnings, and new opportunities. The possibilities are endless.
Don’t put added stress on yourself by making “resolutions.”
Take the time to think about your “revelations” and begin the New Year in a positive light.
All things are possible if you just believe in yourself!
Anne Dennish - Writer/Author 