This post goes out to Becky at Blessings Thru Raindrops. Her post about putting good stuff into the world that is filled with, well, put nicely, not a lot of good stuff, sounded like something I wanted to do too.
So here it is…
Charlotte’s response to the theme “A gift salty, sweet, just right.”
I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in a beautiful neighborhood called the Las Olas Isles. Our house was less than a mile from A1A and the Atlantic Ocean. It was a wonderful place to live and even as a child I was aware of just how special it was.
The western world, my dear McGee, is being turned into one vast cruise ship, and there is a shortage of cruise directors.”
Meyer from a Deadly Shade of Gold by John D. MacDonald
Sometimes it just does my soul good to put aside my cellphone, shut down the computer and just enjoy the world around me. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last three days and I have enjoyed it so much I’m going to keep doing it for a few more.
But before I go again, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs, for as Jimmy so often does, he just has this way of capturing my mood in a song.
During my run yesterday I listened to Jimmy Buffett’s Wondering Where the Lions Are three times. Each time I heard the line, “One of these days we’re going to sail away, going to sail into eternity, some kind of ecstasy’s got a hold on me, and I’m wondering where the lions are” I thought about this image of Teddy, wearing his Lion King life jacket, sailing on Biscayne Bay. The combination of the song, the endorphins from the run and the thoughts of Teddy all felt so very good.
This photo was taken in March, 1995. Teddy was three and we were right smack in the middle of a nine month journey that resulted in his diagnosis of Asperger’s.
It was a turbulent time. Teddy was struggling, I was pregnant and we so desperately wanted answers to the millions of questions we had concerning our first-born.
But in this moment, out on a sailboat, in the middle of the bay, on a warm Miami spring day, all of my fears, all of my worries just faded away. Teddy was so full of bliss. So beautiful.
You know how sometimes in the midst of the storm, you receive some kind of hint that feels as comforting as a soft-spoken whisper in your ear, or a tender squeeze on your shoulder, or a pause that let’s you catch your breath, and because of that hint you just know in that magical way you can know, that the universe is telling you it will all be okay. This image captures my reassuring whisper.
Yesterday, almost 18 years later, I ran several miles with the memory of this moment filling my head and overwhelming my heart. And just as Jimmy sang, some kind of ecstasy indeed had a hold on me.
“Yesterdays are over my shoulder, so I can’t look back for too long.
There’s just too much to see, waiting in front of me, and I know that I just can’t go wrong.”
Jimmy Buffett, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
This is my favorite song line, from my favorite all-time song. It came out in 1977 – I was 12. Doing the math, (the numbers are getting large enough now, I soon might need a calculator!) I realize I’ve listened to this song for 35 years and it has always been my favorite since the first time I heard it all those years ago.
Since before I even really realized what having hope was, since before I could even really comprehend the sheer volume of all that awaited me in life, the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, I have loved the spirit of this song’s message, of its philosophy. It’s always been there for me, to listen to and be comforted by. It has always given me hope.
And well, having a constant in your life, something that gives you hope and helps you steer your course, isn’t that simply wonderful? So, with that in mind, I wanted to share my something wonderful with you, my friend, and maybe, just maybe it might brighten your today and many, many more of your tomorrows.
Enjoy!
The above photo is me, sunrise Christmas Eve 2005 at my all-time favorite place, the jetties in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My hometown.
“I don’t know what it is about pre-flighting a plane in the early hours of morning. It’s not like jumping in your car, turning the ignition, and backing out of the driveway. I think it has to do with the fact that you’re leaving the earth, which most people can’t do, and the preparation for such a feat is almost as exciting as the event itself.” Jimmy Buffett
I first read this quote in EAA’s Reach for the Sky magazine when I was a student pilot. A Buffett fan since 1978, I was sold. I HAD to get my pilot’s license now, I thought.
Well, several months later, in June 2008, I did, and in the years since I have pre-flighted an airplane in the early hours of morning many times, and never once has the excitement of doing so been lost on me.
Here is one of those magical moments. My good flying buddy wiping the early morning dew off the airplane just as the sun is rising. Soon we would be airborne.
I am not sure there is anything better in the world than having a dream and making it come true. I dreamed of flying airplanes, and now I do. The fun, the friends, like William above, and the memories made from doing so, have truly been one of my life’s high points.
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