Waves, seashells, ocean breeze . . .

What more could a heart ask for?

Ocean Sunset © Kathryn LeRoy

Hello friends,

You never know what you will find on social media or how a single post can send you spiraling into glimpses of your past. Krissy’s post conjured up feelings, emotions, senses, and passion.

Krissy posted on Instagram June 16, 2023

My first memories of the ocean, the beach, and the big waves began when I was four or five years old. While I can’t remember why I opened the kitchen pantry, I have vivid recollections of my earliest years.

Windows rolled down with no air-conditioning, the radio kept us upbeat but sweaty. Before I saw “the big water” of the bay, I could smell the pungent, humid air.

To this day, that is the smell I long for. One whiff offers the first inkling that any worries I may have carried with me will soon dissolve within the salty mist.

Our 1949 Ford carried my parents and me across the two-mile causeway from Houston to Galveston Island. Staring out the window, I clenched the armrest.

Old Family Postcard of the First Galveston Causeway

I had never seen so much water. The bridge appeared to hover just above the water’s surface to my childish eyes. What if the car fell off the bridge? How would we get out? Who would save us?

I held my breath and breathed a sigh of relief as we ventured to the solid ground of the island. Towering palms and bright red and pink oleanders greeted visitors. They still do.

My first encounter with the Gulf remains emblazoned in my mind’s eye. Dad turned the car in the direction of the Galveston seawall. From the back seat, the angle felt like driving up a hill. We reached the intersection. I don’t know if I gasped, but I’m positive my eyes grew large with a mix of awe and fear.

The water stretched further than I could see or imagine—endless waves rolling one after another onto the shore. Despite my early trepidation, I put my toes into the gritty sand, listened to the sea, the laughing gulls flying overhead, and felt the warm frothy waves wash over me.

I was hooked.

My trips to the beach come few and far between these days. But photographs remind me that this is a place where the sea, salt, and sunshine converge gifting me sanity and a soothing caress.

Where’s your happy place?

Sunrise on the Beach © Kathryn LeRoy

Whenever I need a lift, I remember the three healing powers of the ocean.

Need a little calm? Bring the sounds of the ocean and listen.

In memory of Tony Bennet, three of my favorite songs to enjoy in your happy place: “Fly Me to the Moon,” “I Left My Heart in San Fransico,” and “Blue Velvet.”

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.”
—Isak Dinesen

“‎I have always been fascinated by the ocean, to dip a limb beneath its surface and know that I'm touching eternity, that it goes on forever until it begins here again.”
― Lauren DeStefano, Wither

My Shadow © Kathryn LeRoy

Find a little wonder this week in your happy place.

With gratitude,

Kathryn

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