Life Aquatastic

Living by the ocean is the best.  The intoxicating uncertainty of her moods thrills me.  Will she be blue and calm, turquoise and flirty or gray, rough and full of fantastic anger?

Being near the ocean is an absolute treat.  It centers, grounds me, puts things in perspective.  It is my loyal friend to visit – well, my loyal friend with multiple personality disorder.

Growing up in middle America the ocean was a far-off concept.  We have the Great Lakes in Michigan.  And they are nothing short of wonderful.  So with them only a cool, err, five-hour drive away, what need had we for the ocean?  Fortunately, my mom, being from Boston, insisted my childhood include that truly fishy smell reserved for wharves manned by wonky-ow accents.

Oh, look at you, Kath.  What an original blog – the ocean is nice.  Yes, others have had the same epiphany before.  But for JD – from the world’s largest city NOT on any body of water – and me, the self-pityingly aforementioned, living by the ocean was a conscious choice.   And not one we’re ready to give up any time soon.  We’ve made it happen.  You can see the ocean from our roof top now.  True, you have to climb up a rickety ladder not meant to actually support a Western human’s weight and step over the gutter that may or may not contain a dead rat somewhere, but you can see it up there!  In Cape Town, our lovely little apartment’s best party trick was to gather a crowd, cause unnecessary anticipation and throw open the sash to reveal a face-to-face encounter with the Indian Ocean.  Our squatter home in Costa Rica was so cozy with the ocean that we shared the same crabs, birds and coconut on the roll.  The size of our front yard was determined by the tides.  Ok, New Yorkers will try to remind me how close Manhattan is to the ocean, but I mean ocean you can visit any time of day; no subway required.  In other words, I am spoiled.

There are great inland places.  I grew up in one.  Mountains are majestic.  Prairies are pretty.  Forests will forever ignite my fever.  And a vino vineyard is very, very…oh what was I saying?  Pour me another glass, please.  But the ocean rules my landscapes of choice. Beautiful barns and awesome urban architecture need not apply.

As JD and I sit on the brink of our next move and the next great adventure, we know we will be happy as long as we’re together – and with the ocean.