Sunscreen and Cuban Music
Simple Joy #1
Nonfiction articles and gracious interviews aside, I love editorial work. I just can’t take the personal out of things.
With the return of warm weather in Chicago and getting vaccinated I’ve begun a cautious return to beach life. And it’s improved my mood exponentially this past week.
There’s a natural rhythm to where you live, be it in the desert, at the edge of a forest, or near the beach. During the pandemic, I’ve SO missed being in nature and all that beach living affords in whatever season we’re pitched. It’s not solely the sand and surf either. Here’s a smidge of what today’s lakefront walk yielded…
~Older folks taking their morning walks.
~People playing basketball at the Foster Beach court.
~Mexican men with ice cream carts, rolling along, tinkling that bell, a terrific call to sweet treats.
~Fierce rounds of sand volleyball.
~A lone gentleman sitting at one of the rocks at Thinker’s Circle, dignified, posture so straight, listening to Cuban music.
~Tiny bits of plucky nature, i.e.- a solitary delicate stalk full of tiny orange flowers amidst nothing but wild grass.
~Pinky-pale freckled folks working on their tan for the 1st time in 2 years.
~Toddlers finding delight in the simplest of things at the shoreline.
~The smell of suntan oil//sunscreen.
I’ve missed emerging from the lake, dripping and cool, and the feel of the hot sun as it instantly warms my skin after a dip in cold, early summer water.
It’s been two years essentially. What simple pleasures have you missed that you are getting back to? Grand moments make for lovely memories but it’s the ubiquitous in our daily lives that, when taken away, make for a gaping black hole in our existence.
Bring on the Jimmy Buffet music. It’s time for grilled shrimp.
Yours truly,
Vivie V. McKinley
