As I made my journey from Rock Island to Hampton today I drove along the river, as I have done for most of my life. I have always been near or lived near water. As I drive this route frequently, I try to notice something different each time. This time it was Consumers. For those of you who don’t know, Consumers is a company that fills sandboxes, yes they do other things, but for me it’s the sand. I think that Consumers made me fall in love with the beach.
When I was growing up we had a sandbox in our backyard, it was fairly rustic, made from pieces of leftover wood nailed together in a square. It was painted green and had triangular pieces of wood in each corner , those were the seats. I shared the sandbox, like most of my toys with my brother Steve. I remember in the Spring we would refill the sandbox, because it disappears somehow over the seasons. We would go to consumers and fill buckets or something with the sand and put it in the trunk of our car. The trunk would be weighed down and Dad would painstakingly move the sand from the car to our sandbox.
After it was filled with pure new sand, we were free to play. I don’t remember how much I played but to this day, I remember the feeling of my toes in the sand. Putting my toes in and digging down to the coolest part of the sand, the level of near mud, where the sand meets the grass. The cold sand on top of my feet and slowly bringing my feet up through the sand like a foot volcano of sand and begin again. It was a glorious feeling. The sand was soft and heavy across your feet and tumbled as you pushed your way through it. Sure some got in your mouth or hair in the course of play, but what a fun afternoon sitting in the sandbox.
That joy has never left me, when I see a beach, whether New York, South Carolina, Florida or anywhere else, I am transported back to my sandbox and I cannot wait to put my feet in the sand. It is where I most feel at peace, sitting on a beach inhaling the sea spray and pondering the wonders of the ocean.
We all need our own sandbox, that place or thing that takes you back and gives you a warm fuzzy that no one can take from you.
Find your sandbox.
Until next time,
LJ
No, this isn’t me.. but it could be.
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