The Integration of Nurse Bacon and Nascar Pitcrew: Salt Water

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.

~Isak Dinesen

This year has started out as an exploration of truths forgotten. Rediscovery of old habits, like hot tea before bed, has led me to a more rested place. Replacing the wine has not been near as difficult as I expected. I am an extremely emotional person, however, and I am not sure if the lack of alcohol has made the emotion more palpable. At times, I actually miss the the reset button of the hangover, that I often used to escape any fear or anger I might be experiencing. It seems that without alcohol, I tend to hang on to the fear or anger, and let it brew into a nasty depression (since behind any anger is deep sorrow). I am lucky to have Nascar at my side to keep me from drinking too much of that bitter brew.

Nascar and I spent the weekend in Fort Bragg, CA, on the Mendocino Coast. It was stunning. The crashing waves, the tide pools brimming with life, the knotty pines and angular coastal trees were breathtaking. I grew up in San Diego, and though we had a less dramatic beauty about our beaches, I always found myself drawn to the rhythmic sounds and the calming motion of the waves. This Saturday, Nascar and I spent all day near the water. We explored tide pools, walked through gardens, and watched the sun set over the ocean, and the moon rise over the mountains. It felt just about perfect.

I am bewildered at how much I have ignored about our earth through my youth. Despite living 2 miles from the ocean for 5 years, I had never explored tide pools before yesterday. Nascar and I skipped from rock to rock, climbed over boulders, and found so many totems of life, that an urban girl like me often takes for granted. As Nascar said, "I love the tide pools. These life forms have a whole ocean to live in, and they choose these strange, almost uninhabitable places to place their beauty." I found my first star fish, and I thought I was Jacques Cousteau for a minute. Nascar is like a 5 year old boy by the sea, and he led me into caves and peering into crevices to find whatever might be hidden within. It was really quite magical.