I can actually listen to the wisest voice of all. The one inside of me. She gets a whole lot louder when she's not drowned out by dishes in the sink. Even if I actually like those dishes. Even if I love them, their management still distracts me from the real work of being alive.

In these few moments I get to see him in his purest form. I am grateful. I am heartbroken. I want it to last. I know it won’t. The fact that it’s fleeting is what made me pause and notice. The truth is that there aren’t many people who will get to experience him like this.

They don’t even hesitate when they get to the water’s edge. Clothes and all they splash in knee-deep. I see their faces and it is rare it’s a rare kind of joy. They are laughing. They are whooping. They are splashing each other. They are smiling. They are wet and don’t care. They are sandy and don’t mind.

I’m a bit of a junkie for that ethereal ease. Always on the lookout. An arrangement of clouds that mirrors each other for half a minute. Two waves cresting at the same time on either side of the bay. Always seeking the harmonious in that just-right way. Repetition catches at that deep satisfaction whether it’s a scale of musical notes, the loose swinging of arms on a walk, or matching trees on either side of a road.