navio beach wave

this is one of my favorite photos from the past year. sitting here, in my economically heated apartment, with darkness already three hours deep outside, with cold toes despite wool socks and slippers, wearing four shirts, i can imagine and allow myself to be enveloped by the warmth of this day in the sun. i can taste the sea, i can feel the salt left on my skin after a swim. i can feel the sand sticking to me. it is wonderful.

one of my favorite memories of this day at the beach with my friends is seeing herman running across the beach and into the waves. i spend a lot of my time with my friends in the winter. we cover ourselves up in layer upon layer of warm clothes, ski helmets and goggles, even our hands are protected in thick gloves. we walk across parking lots in ski boots. at lunch, our cheeks are red while we have raccoon eyes; at dinner, we eat copious amounts of food from fondue to burgers to scallion pancakes. but, this day, we were far south of our usual climes and i envied the energy herman had as he jumped into the water. i could picture him, briefly, as a kid, only he's six feet tall - we can all be called guilty of acting like big children, though. it seemed such a novel backdrop for my friends and me.

i like to think about what it was like to have this wave hit me; my year has been full of crashing waves. some i've been able to dive under and pop up from unscathed, with little idea of what went on closer to the shore. others, i have had my back to as they've hit me. i've had my fill of them, some that just knocked me off my feet for a bit, others that have run me through the wringer. the only constant to it all has been that as i surface, i cannot help but note just how blue the sky is; i am awed by the turqoise of the water. and i love hearing the chatter of my friends right along side of me. what are we without the waves, and without our friends?