It was actually rather on the cool side, and I was a bit nervous about the prospect of going in the water. In fact, I was hesitant even to dip my toes in the water, since I was sure that the water would be shockingly cold. It was mid-September, and we had experienced a string of surprisingly cool days, and nights that had been downright chilly. Not exactly weather that was conducive to swimming, or anything.
Still, how often do I get to go to the beach? Here I was, at the beautiful beach at Point Pleasant, New Jersey, and it was still summer, technically. How many more opportunities was I going to get this year? Soon, it would be cold again, period. Soon, in fact, it was going to be winter.
But not now. Right now, in fact, it was still technically summer, and the beach, while not crowded, had still attracted a fairly sizable crowd for mid-week in mid-September.
So, once we settled in, spread the blanket, and set up the umbrella to protect against the sun - which was to our backs, and was shining quite brightly - I decided to go ahead. I took my shoes off and, ran towards the water. I noticed that my watch was still on, so I ran back and took it off, then headed back towards the water. Once I would be in the water, I would wonder why I had not put down the book that was in my hand, along with the watch. But, what was the big deal?
Initially, the water was cold. Shockingly cold, in fact. I wanted to withdraw the first time that the initial wave crashed over my feet. The next wave was bigger, and carried a bigger splash, and so more water went to my legs, even reaching my bathing suit. Yes, it was cold. Cold enough for instant shrinkage.
Still, the thought passed through my head once again. This would be the last time for the year that I would be at the beach with any opportunity to swim, most likely. Why be a wimp about it?
Also, I was noticing something: once you got used to it, the water was not half bad.
Even more encouraging: there was another swimmer. Two, actually. A father and his little daughter of maybe five years of age. The daughter was in there for a few minutes, tops. But the father went in for a dip, and that was all the impetus I needed. I was determined to go in.
Yet, when asked if a walk would be nice, I said, yes. Was it an excuse? Was I procrastinating? Perhaps. But I went for the walk, anyway.
It was actually during the walk that I finally mustered the courage to fully immerse myself in the water. I delved a bit deeper initially, perhaps up to my knees. The waves crashed, and more of me got wet then perhaps intended. Then there was a high wave, and I found myself in the water up to my waist.
By that point, there was hardly any reason anymore to hesitate. I waited for the next few waves to go by, and for the water to subside. Then, while clear, I finally allowed myself to go in the water, and swim a bit. It was fairly still for a while, and I floated on my back a bit.
It was nice. In fact, it started to feel downright warm, and certainly much warmer in the water than it was outside - it really was a bit chilly.
I swam, enjoying the fact that I was swimming (and had never swam in the ocean so late in the calendar year before). So, it felt great! I let the waves crash over me, some of them I allowed to carry me. At one point, I was in much shallower water than I thought, and when the wave crashed, taking me with it, I looked like a stumbling child.
She laughed at how ridiculous I looked, and that made me laugh, as well.
I came out of the water, and we went back to our spot. She had forgotten a book, and so I told her that I would read aloud to her, if she wanted. To my surprise, she took me up on that.
So I started reading, feeling a bit foolish at my choice of reading. It was "Heaven Is Under Our Feet", and while it is a wonderful and thought provoking book, it is not exactly beach reading, if you will. Next thing I knew, I was reading her a politically charged doctrine, where the author was railing against the ruling party (at the time of the writing) and it's lax approach to enforcement of environmental regulations. The next piece was more of the same, and although I really enjoy the book, there came a point where it made sense to put it down, and once again, enjoy the view of the ocean, boundless (to the naked eye, that is) and stretching on, seemingly forever. To listen to the waves crash, the retreat. The ebb and flow of the ocean's waves, which I had heard were actually very strong just a couple of days before.
It was getting a bit late. By this time of the year, in New Jersey, it gets dark noticeably earlier than during the peak summer months. On June 21st, the longest day of the year, it can sometimes seem like 9:30 before it gets dark, and certainly it is not fully dark before 9pm. But this was mid-September, three months later, in effect. It would start to get dark shortly after 7pm, and it was around half past five now. If I wanted to go back in for one last swim, it would have to come very soon.
So, I stripped my t-shirt off yet again, and took another dip. The temperatures outside had dropped by this time, so it was noticeably cooler. She had put on a sweatshirt, and eventually, had put her pants back on. I had tried to ignore this, and tried to boldly go back in the water. But this time, it was cold, and this sense of cold did not go away so easy.
I had hoped that not so much time had passed that I would not be used to the water, but it took getting acclimated yet again. It was chilly, bordering on cold, and this time, there was not the comforting sense of it feeling surprisingly warm, before too long. But I tried to stay in there, swimming, knowing this might be the last time for this year, and it could be a long winter. Besides, instead of being the only one in the water (like I was earlier, the last time I had been in here), now there were a whole bunch of other people swimming, and it felt more normal. So, I tried to make the most of it.
When I came out, the air felt really cold, and I wrapped my super cool Batman towel (it was on sale at Target earlier this year, and I needed a towel) around me.
Before long, I changed into dry clothes, and we sat before the ocean, talking, relaxing. How long had it been since I had enjoyed a day like this? I could not state a specific date, but it definitely had been too long, that was for sure.
She was getting downright cold, and wanted to go. It would be dark soon - the sun was already sinking behind us. So, we started packing out stuff, and walked back, dropping the stuff off in the car, before taking one last stroll along the board walk.
The board walk was the standard stuff around here. It was a carnival like atmosphere.Fast food restaurants, rides from some miniature amusement park. Way too many arcades. Some games to win prizes. Stuff like that. We walked along one side, then to the other. Most of the shops and such were already closed for the season. I had heard that the Jersey Shore can be depressingly quiet and devoid of life during the off season, which lasts nine months, until the next summer. I could se it firsthand, though, now, only a week and change after Labor Day Weekend.
Time to go home. But, nonetheless, I was glad to have made it back to the Jersey Shore, at least one more time before the end of the warm season. We made it back as the sky turned from daylight under a sinking sun, to a dusky sky by the time that we reached the Garden State Parkway heading northbound, and was fully dark when we got to our exit.
It was not late, but we were tired. We ordered some cheesesteaks, and then she retreated to take a shower, while I started this blog. She went to bed, and turned on a movie. Within minutes, her eyes were closed, and she was pretty much asleep. Who am I kidding, though? If I were in bed with her, my eyes would get incredibly heavy before too long, as well.
So, that's it. Summer might not yet be officially over according to the calendar, which states that the autumnal equinox this years falls on the 22nd. But for me, this probably marks the true end for the summer for another year.
It has been a rough few weeks, perhaps really, even a rough month or so. Perhaps the worst of the stress is over, or maybe there is more stress to come. Hard to tell, isn't it. But that said, it's nice to get a break from all of that, every now and then. Thank God we get such opportunities, from time to time. Sometimes, you have to recognize the blessings when they come your way, and enjoy life a bit, don't you? I can't imagine it ending on a better note than that.
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