Do I Bring a Towel?

I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately.  I have always disliked sleeping on my back.  I suppose that if I did more sit ups this would change but I in the meantime just don't do it.  I tend to sleep on my side.  However, in the past month I have even had trouble in this position.  So I toss and turn.

I woke up this morning at 5, which means I really only got like four hours of sleep.  So, I decided, because I had been telling myself to for about a week now, to go to the beach when the alarm went off at 6.

There were all these things that I knew would come up.  Like keys and ID and shoes and "Do I bring a towel?" and other stuff not worth recounting here.  There was the cold.  It was cold.  I was really groggy.  Even after being up half the night it was interesting to realize how much I wanted to return to that tedium.

I kept thinking, "I'm going to hate this," on the way down.  I only live five blocks from the beach so the reality is that I didn't think this too long but it only made the experience that much more immediate.  Every block brought the reality of the sand, the waves, the in-your-face-power of the thing that closer.

When I got to the Lower Great Highway I just kept going up the trail and over the levee, across the upper roadway, over the fencing, through the brush onto the sea wall over to and down the stairs....  I took off my shirt and flip flops and trudged through the sand saying, "Well here goes..." and then I was in the water.

I hate wading into water.  It only makes the difficulty of getting used to the temperature all the more drawn out but with the ocean it isn't the same.  You can't just jump into it.  The waves start small but as you walk (or run) out to meet them the weight of the water begins to slow you down.  Then there are the variety of waves that you have to deal with and then WHAM that big one comes in and knocks you silly.

And then there you are.  In the ocean.

From then on, even on the way home, I didn't once dislike the waves, the temperature, my outfit, the wind, the walk.  I just found myself at home spraying my feet off, showering and getting ready for the day.