What the Tide Brings

“I just have to keep breathing as long as I can, because tomorrow the sun will rise, and you never know what the tide will bring.” –Tom Hanks, “Cast Away.”

[Photo taken by Yours Truly - one beautiful summer day...]

I am a gleaner.

As I walk up and down the beach on the Pacific, I have always kept my eye out for the unusual or interesting thing-a-ma-bob. I suppose this behavior originated from surfing the local trash dumps with my big brother when we were little kids. We found some really cool stuff, like an antique piano stool with a top that spins and a really old metal and wooden hope chest. I ended up refinishing both items with my Mom’s help; she still has them. I still wonder why Mom let us go to the dump, lots of times we found hypodermic needles, too. I guess that was then and this is now, and I’m still alive and kicking.

Most often, when I’m beach trolling, I find childrens’ toys. Sometimes I find a cool sand dollar, a unique piece of sea glass, or even lost jewelry – like broken watches or pewter charms. In many cases I feel the need to scoop it up and put it in my Treasure Cup.

~My Treasure Cup~

What are the stories behind these lost treasures?

Was the orange dinosaur the possession of 4-year-old, French-speaking boy? Was he lolli-gagging on the beach when his Mom yelled out to pack his stuff and head home? Was he staring into the distance, enraptured with the waves, when his impatient Mom snatched him up to cart him off to their car? Did he drop it while crying, wanting to stare at the open water, wanting to stay and continue his observations into the abyss while building sand castles for dinosaurs?

You may be able to see some bling in my Treasure Cup (in the bottom 1/3 of the cup). I found a broken key chain with orange, inset jewels in the metal. Did someone loose his or her house keys? Did a bitter lover break up with his girlfriend, walk away in heartbreak, and loose his keychain in the sand? Or, was this a relic of someone who had broken up with her boyfriend, wanted a physical memory of leaving him behind, and threw the keychain into the water?

~Dimetrodon Toy~

(He is difficult to see in Treasure Cup, so I’ve attached a similar model above.)

One clear day, I was swimming about 50 meters out from the beach and spotted another small plastic toy dinosaur. Feeling adventurous, I dove down to the bottom to snatch it up. When I swam back to shore, I showed my husband, Scott, my treasure. He took a quick look and remarked, “Oh cool, you found a Dimetrodon.”

“What??? How do you know what that is?”

Had to be kidding me. I mean c’mon, how the heck could he know this goofy dinosaur’s name?

I’m thinking he made it up or something. He was too sure of himself; I knew he had to be playing me. We do these things to each other—tell funny white lies to see how far we can get. I’m not sure why we do this, but we always end in a wave of gut-busing laughter.

I wasn’t having any of it. No way this thing was a, what?, a Dimetrodon? That’s not even a real dinosaur name! Sure enough: I was ooohing and aaaahing over my latest find, turned the plastic thing over on its back, and imprinted on the toy was the word:

DIMETRODON

What a goofball! I married this guy?

He later confessed that he was a dino-geek growing up. He knows all the dinosaur names and had oodles of coloring books, toys, and encyclopedias about everything dinosaur when he was kid. I learned an interesting factoid about my beloved that day.

For me, I enjoy seeing what the tide brings as often as I can. Many times it brings ethereal things that I can’t grab and put in my Treasure Cup. It brings a sense of connectedness to the world. It brings awe and wonder thinking about the courage it must have required for men to set sail, not knowing what was out there. I don’t know what will happen to me if I must move away from the ocean someday. I feel that a part of me will be missing.

Then again, I suppose that’s part of the journey. I shouldn’t need to live by the ocean to feel a sense of awe and wonder about this world. I just need to pay attention: experience the sunrise and sunset, and most things in between.

What do you do to pay attention? Are you a gleaner?

Thanks for stopping by – Create a Great Day!