Summer Sand

There is more to life than sports and sometimes you just have to write about it. I’ve been so busy lately with the all-consuming MBA monster course I’m taking this summer. It’s hard to stop and think, let alone write. But last night I did just that. I took an idea and went with it:
Sand is summer’s morsel; the grain of life.
Sand is a metaphor for life. It’s a divided rock of small particles. Take a handful of sand and watch it slowly slip through your fingers. The sand starts out in abundance, but gently and gradually dwindles. Some people dig into the sand as they dig into life, to find something deeper. Others watch from afar as the sand drifts away in the wind. We all leave our footprints in the sand. They are like the impressions we leave in life. Perhaps what I’m writing is bizarre, but I can’t help drawing comparisons between sand and life. Did you ever notice how when something eventful happens in your life, it’s like when the tide comes in and carries away the sand? All you thought you knew is suddenly washed away with the waves. You can never know for sure what is going to happen. It’s like not knowing where the sand begins or ends. Sand can be permeable or nonporous, just as we can let some people in while keeping others out. Did you build sandcastles as a kid? Maybe the ocean wiped out an entire side structure, but left the unharmed side standing. Life is the same way. The wet sand, the hurt soul, is damaged and eroded. The other part, the part of you that’s untouched, remains firm. Sand is warm; sand is cold. Such is life.
Life is usually not a day at the beach. Still, there is no reason why we can’t strive for that feeling every day. Anybody who knows me well knows I love the summer. The passion inside me is stirred when the weather is warm and the sun is shining. I think I’m happiest this time of year because of these things…
Skinny foam flip-flops,
“The Letter” by the Box Tops,
80’s pop and 90’s rock,
Barefoot in the grass without a sock,
Pineapple Hawaiian shave ices,
Nifty remote control devices,
Waking up to summer storms,
Castles in the shape of sandy forms,
Ice cream stand servings too cold to bite,
Hugging someone under the moonlight,
Reading books by the sand,
Concerts of your favorite band,
Bikes with baskets and brassy bells,
The happiness that comes and dwells,
Shorts and tanks and baseball caps,
Riding to strange towns without maps,
The impeccable beauty of a tennis court,
Playing outside in a handmade fort,
Finding sand dollars by the shore,
Kissing those that you adore,
Memories of the way you were,
Shifting sands steadying the summer.
Mark Twain writes in Huckleberry Finn, “she had more sand in her than any other girl I ever see; in my opinion she was just full of sand.” The girl Twain is describing is full of toughness, grit and character. She has more life than any other girl. If only all of us could be full of sand…

Parting Points: Songs of the day- “You Showed Me” by the Turtles
"When the Sand Runs Out"- by Rascal Flatts