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Life Policy

A wise man in my youth taught that one should have principles (which I call “policies”) in life that help you make decisions. One of my personal life policies is Never Turn Down A Chance To Go To The Beach.

You may recall that I have a friend who is waiting for new lungs. With our heat and smoke, she has been suffering greatly for the past 2 months in Three Rivers. To help you understand how much, get this: she hasn’t been upstairs in her own home for 2 months because the stairs are too much of an obstacle.

A friend of hers offered her use of a house on the Central Coast for the month of August. She needed a driver, an equipment schlepper, and a general caretaker, and yea, she asked me!! After some juggling, cancelling, rearranging, etc., I called her back. When she answered the phone, I simply said, “Yes”.  She may have screamed, which took too much oxygen. But, we made it. Here is a peek into our time together. Out of respect for the privacy of the homeowner and my friend, I’ll keep specifics off the World Wide Web.

We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the location and the beauty of the house. She sat outside and breathed the cool clean air while I got all the stuff situated
When I got down to the beach, I saw a whole jellyfish on the sand. Usually there are only squishy parts of these creatures.
This creature kept looking at me. I walked it multiple times a day, and any time we were in the house, I said to it, “Stop looking at me!”
What?? More jellyfish on the sand?
Really strange stuff.
Previous occupants have found seaglass and shells.
Stop looking at me!
A big victory was getting my friend to the sand. Actually the bigger victory was getting her back up the steps. This trek will be a daily goal, with the hope that she will get strong enough to actually make it down to the water;s edge.
Really??
This walk, these colors, scent, feel – it is why never turning down a visit to the beach is one of my life policies.
What is going on around here??
Finally. Something other than a dying jellyblobfish.
I love my friend and she loves me. What a pleasure and a privilege to spend time together! (I’m trying to hide the O2 tank in the picture.)

8 Comments

  1. Jana,

    What a beautiful place to be and a kind gift of the hostess to loan you and your friend the home. I;m sorry for your friend’s hard struggle right now waiting for new lungs. My dad was on oxygen near the end of his cancer hospice, and that was hard on him and us.

    The beach and the sound of the waves, and the delight in each new wave-swept find… AHHHH. Rejuvenating.

    Do you have new beach-themed scenes and still lifes to paint?

    Smiling at you,
    Jennifer Dougan
    http://www.jenniferdougan.com

    • JENNIFER!! There will be a real letter to you in tomorrow’s real mail! I have many beach scenes to paint in my head, but they just don’t sell well in my small circle of followers, who are all mountain-leaning in their preferences.

  2. Lovely you for your help, lovely place and lovely moment for a friend.

    • Janet, it was truly a blessing in every way.

  3. A wonderful story. Thank you.

    • Aw shucks, Sally, thank you for commenting.

  4. Beautiful! As for the creature that was always looking at you, you will just have to accept that you are definitely a most interesting being!

    • Louise, “creature” is the right identifier for that dog, indeed!

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