the back shore

Yesterday after my post admitting my sadness...I had a big bowl of rainbow sherbet and vanilla (half fat) ice cream - kind of like a bowl of triple flavour Dreamsicles, tidied up the kitchen (dishes etc), cut myself some slack about the lack of productivity as far as my design job goes (chalked yesterday up to an extra day of vacation) and took those darn Sweeties to the beach. We went to the back shore beach. Tide was full and I threw some sticks for Jake and Winnie and I walked up and down the beach while he swam around collecting his sticks. It occurred to me that just a few days ago Michael, Molly & Sandra were all here on this beach too...that's a good feeling - that each morning now when I walk on that beach I can remember that I've shared this place with them. Once I was on that train of thought, the thought that once someone or something has been somewhere some of their energy or spirit remains there, at the place that they visited, it reminded me of a time years ago. 12 years ago, at least, when I only had Em and I didn't drive. Em and I would walk from the village at low tide to this back shore beach...way out on the muddy flats & sandbars. I would carry a knapsack with water and maybe a new magazine and we'd finally arrive on this beach. Em would go off into the pasture looking for cow patties, I would sit on the beach enjoying the sun and she would eventually join me, having the entire huge expanse of beach she would sit within inches of me and that always made me feel great. We'd just sit staring up at the sky...staring out at the water and the sandbars. We'd wade around in the shallow warm water, me floating around and Em never leaving my side and we'd have a day at the beach, just Em & I ... hanging out on the back shore.