The Essence of a Found Hometown

San Clemente, California.  A patriotic little enclave in Southern California which has captured my heart and nourishes my spirit in a way that no other place ever has.  Living here has been like coming home after wandering through, for much of my life.  When I think about finally arriving here via a very long and winding road beginning with my original birthplace of Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, it feels as if we were meant to end up here, that we were somehow led here, and yet, it is a place that spent very little time on my radar during our first twenty-three years here in Southern California.  Mark and I have always lived with the feeling that we are being guided.  We always seem to end up in the right place at the right time.  And so, as we get ready to complete the packing and the moving from our Ladera house which has been home for almost twelve years, it is a good thing to know that we are not only moving, but coming home. 

This beach is known as T-Street.  It is very popular with locals and tourists, alike.  The beach is fairly flat and there are playgrounds for the children which makes it a fantastic spot for families.  We really like taking our pup, Micah, for walks along the San Clemente Beach Trail which spans approximately five miles long but allows you to pop on or off at various spots along the way.

I really enjoy bringing my camera with me whenever we go for a walk because the subjects down here are endless!

There is a restaurant at the foot of the pier that offers a gorgeous view of the Pacific and incredible sunsets.  Care to join me for lunch?

When this lifeguard came bounding down the pier with a very purposeful look in his eyes, I asked him how his day was going.  He told me that he was getting very tired because he had made nine rescues that day!  Sheesh!  I told him that he would sleep very well that night.

The older gentleman to the right was fishing with his son and grandson.  I noticed them because the grandson was being very sweet and gentle with his grandfather.

How incredibly lucky these two souls are to have each other.  Grandparents are extremely important in the lives of their grandchildren.  I see this relationship between my four daughters and their grandparents.  I have always encouraged my girls to spend time with their grandparents.  I have always said that my mother makes a much better grandmother than she ever did a mother.  I am very glad for that as my girls deserve to be treated like they are the most wonderful things since sliced challah;)

We are so lucky to be able to watch the flocks of Pelicans flying over our bluff during the summer months.  They are the most magnificent birds with huge wingspans and beautifully graceful flight.  This was the first time that we got to observe a Pelican up close.  He was hanging out at the end of the pier where people like to drop their fishing lines into the ocean.  It has become a learned behavior for them to beg for food but it is very important not to feed them because they are only supposed to eat certain things.  They are very good at pretending that they are starving to death so that someone will toss them a hand-out.  Quite an amazing adapted trait these birds have learned!  It is actually against the law to feed them but most people do not know that.  This guy just hung around staring at everyone with that "I'm cute and hungry" look in his eyes.  Stinker!

These bungalows are perched just above the beach overlooking the ocean.  I have never been inside of them, but I would imagine that the views alone, are the reason that people would stay here.

Some of the older architecture in our neighborhood is stunning.  I spotted this beautiful gate on this stucco home when Mark and I were taking Micah and Becca for a walk the other day.  There is always something wonderful to discover when we go out for walks;

Like the Neighborhood Watch for the Bird Sanctuary.

Or the constant color that makes San Clemente so vibrant and breathtaking.

Thank you for joining me on my little tour of this beautiful town.  It is definitely a place that is worth visiting and who knows?  Maybe, just maybe, you will find out that it is destined to end up being your hometown, too;)

Chasing Seagulls

Having teenagers and a twenty-something means having children who have lives of their own.  My younger two Angels, ages fourteen and sixteen, are still caught between the simplicity of childhood and the complexities of turning the corner into adulthood.  Honestly, I love to observe the young women that they are all becoming but it is also very hard on me at times, to accept that there are things that they would sometimes rather do than hang around with their dear old mom.  We have always been a very close-knit family that enjoys spending time with one another.  Yet even after having experienced the "separation phase" between the teenage years and young adulthood twice before, I still find it somewhat jarring when my daughters enter into that period of their lives.  And although I know that it is entirely healthy and necessary for parents and children to separate from each other, my soul sometimes still longs for the days when I had four little ducklings living at home in the nest.

Today, Mark and I decided that we would go for a walk on the beach to hunt for sea glass.  With my illness, it is very easy for me to isolate myself inside of the house, but since we started spending our weekends at the beach, I just cannot justify not getting out into the salty sea air.  The pull of the ocean beckons to me like an old friend and I must do all that I can to motivate my achy body into getting the heck OUT of the house.  I suppose this is one of the many reasons that I decided to begin collecting sea glass.  It wasn't something that I knew anything about, nor was it anything that I had ever done before, but one day something from within my spirit told me that I needed to start hunting for sea glass.(Might it have been one of those quiet God Whispers?)  Mark has been a VERY good sport about my treasure hunts.  Not only does he sometimes accompany me, but he searches for sea glass as well.  This is one of the many, many reasons I love him even more than I did twenty-eight years ago.  He never questions my creative endeavors.  He compliments me and encourages me to do the things that call out to my spirit.  He is all man, yet he has no problem combing the beach for dainty little pieces of sea glass.

Today we decided to recruit our two youngest Angels to join us on our hunt.  They were a bit reluctant at first, but finally agreed to come along.  There are always lots of Seagulls on the beach and when I spotted them, I told the girls to do something that I might not normally suggest.(I love animals and feel bad about disturbing them, especially when I'm infringing on their territory.)
I told them to chase the Seagulls!
And the ten year old Angels in them came bounding forth as they sprung into action.
There they were, chasing the birds until the birds turned around and decided to show them whose territory they were messing around on!  The joy, the laughter, the camaraderie of sisters came charging forward.  How easy and natural it was for them to revert back into being the silly little care-free girls that they were, only a few short years ago.
Pure, unadulterated JOY!  They laughed, I laughed, Mark laughed.  I think I might have even heard the Seagulls laughing.
Watching them run across the beach made me realize that part of my job as their mother, no matter how old they get, is to always remind them of the children that they once were.  And part of my purpose as a woman, is to remind myself to honor the child who was once me.  We all need to play more.  A life that is too serious is a life that has become devoid of joy.

May you remind yourself and those you love, that running, laughing and playing are just as important as getting that laundry done, those bills paid, that room cleaned, etc.  May you think about the things that brought you joy as a child and find out if maybe, just maybe, those things might be worth another look.

Breaking Through

If we can still see the light pouring out of the darkness.  If we can look up long enough to see the waterfall of brightness cascading down from the clouds.  If we can capture a moment of clarity on a day in which we are feeling quite dull, then we will unfailingly be able to hold onto hope.  And hope shines much more brightly when we are able to take notice of the contrast.

May you seize the quiet, unexpected moments of hope that show up in your days.  

Happy Labor Day

Hunting for sea glass, yesterday, I took some time to look around and take in the wonderful beach scenes that were happening all around me.  This brave very, very, VERY pregnant woman caught my eye.  I found her mesmerizing as she waded ankle-deep in the warm ocean water and thought about her baby doing the very same thing inside of her body.  I remembered back to my "labor"days, as I worked with all of my might, to bring my Angels into the world.  One by one, I carried them safely tucked inside of my womb, dreaming about who and what they each would be.  And one by one, they exceeded my expectations, as they continue to do to this day.

There was something about watching this woman and her little girl that made me feel nostalgic about the past.  Something that made it difficult for me to turn my eyes away.  As women, we go through so many transitions in our lives.  We are expected to create and let go, as if there is nothing to it.  Even those of us who do not have children experience these transitions as a part of our own evolution.  We create art, we create work, we create things with our hands that are made with love, and then, if we are to share these things with the world, we let them go.  Hoping, praying that what we have set forth, will be loved and appreciated by others.  It is the song of a woman's heart...To labor and then set forth.  The rhythm carries almost the same pattern as the ocean's waves.
I spotted these three young boys adventuring through the run-off tunnel which funnels into the ocean.  Three young men with nothing to do but test their own limits.  Camaraderie in action.  I thought about the lessons that they were learning by testing their own courage.  Just by watching them, I sensed that the young boy in the center would someday grow into a supportive, loyal young man.  I thought of our young people at war in other countries on this Labor Day.  Alone, but together.  Leaning on each other's shoulders to hold each other up.  Leaning on each other's shoulders to keep from falling.
And then I looked over and spotted my past, present and future.  The little boy who once led his friends through the forests by his house.  The man who is a supportive loving, husband and father.  The little Angel that I labored to bring into this world, and that I still continue to labor over in raising.  And I knew.  I knew that no matter how difficult life seems to get sometimes, I can always look towards them to bring me hope.  To remind me of what life is worth living for.  To remind me of what is worth fighting for.  For they are the shoulders that I lean on when I feel like I am falling down.

May you move gently, yet purposefully through the transitions of your life.  May the release be eased by the knowledge that you did the very best you could do in preparation.  May the shoulders of those you love feel safe and strong.  May your shoulders always be strong enough to bear the weight of those who need you.

Tiny Treasures or Meditating on a Rocky Beach

Our beach home resides on a bluff which overlooks the rocky beaches of San Clemente, California.  On the days when I feel up to it, Mark and I like to take a walk along the coastline.  There are very few seashells to be found, but the wonderfully organic shapes of the various rocks that can be discovered are endless.  As the waves roll into the shore, you can actually hear the clinking of the rocks as they ride onto the beach with the tide.  The sound is quite hypnotic, especially when mixed with the calls of the Seagulls, and the rising laughter of children as they clammer away from the waves.  The landscape is never the same.  It is an ever-changing slice of nature's magic, transforming moment by moment.

Walking along the shoreline, one day, I discovered something which seemed a bit out of place.  It was a tiny, triangular piece of glass which was translucent green in color.  Its edges were smooth, but its surface was etched from the sand that tumbled around it.  I picked it up, and I was immediately filled with the curiosity of a child.  I needed to know more.  I needed to find more.  And so, my fascination with pure sea glass began.

It is a form of meditation for me.  Walking along the shoreline, searching through the thousands and thousands of rocks, only to discover the one, singular remnant of sea glass which shines brightly among the soft grays, the speckled blacks and the creamy whites.  There is something about searching for something so elusive that calms the mind and soul.

These tiny pieces of glass, survivors of something which began as something much larger, somehow made it to the beach below my feet.  They may have tumbled about for hundreds of years, beginning as a bottle or a radio transmitter, or who knows what else, only to be discovered by me, a small fragment in time.  Mark humors me in my search as he finds his own form of meditation in the ocean waves.  He watches the surfers.  He stops occasionally to pick up the tiniest treasure which I proudly add to my collection.  When he does this, I remind him that "he is the MAN", and we smile knowing that whatever we are in, we are in it together.  And we return home as I banter on about the amazing pieces of treasure we have collected, alone, but together.  He listens.

It is like that, isn't it?  We set out on this journey alone, only to find someone along the way who allows us to meditate and refocus in whatever way might be necessary and then who sometimes joins in along the way.  Allowing enough distance, yet enough closeness to remind both yourself and he or she that they are indeed "the MAN!"  When we join up on this journey, together, it should be in a way that still allows the other person to indulge in quiet meditation, even if that means sometimes humoring one another.  Even if it means something as seemingly insignificant as searching for pieces of sea glass on a rocky beach.

Like many of the things I write, this turned out to be something very different from what it set out to be.  Yet, sometimes allowing the stream of consciousness to move from one thought to another is like dreaming while awake.  It's like not really knowing why you are starting out where you are until you get to the end.

May you discover whatever form of quiet mediation brings you the most peace.  May you take the time to allow yourself to indulge in whatever it is that works for you.  And may you be lucky enough to find someone, along the way, who cares enough to accompany you.  Allowing you to both find the pieces on your own, while also knowing when to hand you a tiny treasure along the way.