Sunset, Cape Fear

What are you doing this evening?

Twice a day, there’s a silent struggle at the mouth of the Cape Fear river as the incoming tide meets the outflowing river. The tide sometimes pushes the river all the way back to Wilmington, 15 miles upstream. In an hour or two, the tide drops and the Cape Fear resumes its course.

I visited Ft. Fisher on the Cape Fear yesterday at sunset. It was low tide, everything was quiet, peaceful for the moment…but in just a few hours, another battle would ensue. I thought this reminiscent of the unending seasons of struggle we all face. We are tied to the rhythms of creation more than we know, a bond that’s fast becoming lost in the mad rush of life.

Life has been draining lately. I realized I hadn’t posted in over a month.

My middle daughter got married in the Tennessee mountains near Pigeon Forge last month, and helping to manage this from 400 miles away was a challenge.

I’ve been face-timing with my college buddy who’s struggling with early-onset dementia. Seeing him struggle and hearing the little details from his wife is incredibly sad. Never saw this coming when we were 20 and flipping a frisbee around at Florida.

Today would have been Pop’s 101st birthday and I’m feeling the loss. His best friend…who never had kids and became “Uncle Eddie”… made it to 101 before cashing out four months ago. I’d call him now and then, and up until the very end he was driving his ‘65 Mustang and living in the house he bought in the 1950s.

Finally, the coup de grâce…my youngest daughter got her first place and moved out. Sue and I are empty nesters. I walk past their old rooms, still filled with some of their stuff, and wonder how it all could have gone by so quickly.

Sigh. So after a little thought, I concluded the only thing to do was head for the beach with Sue, Jimmy Buffett, and faithful mutt Koda in tow. The lyrics from Jimmy’s Cowboy in the Jungle sorta summed it up:

Spinning around in circles
Living it day to day
And still twenty four hours, maybe sixty good years
It’s really not that long a stay

So tonight’s plan is to take my camera out onto the beach and take some long-exposure pix of the summer sky. There’s virtually zero light pollution to the south, and the summer constellations, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Milky Way are spectacular.

And after that, I’ll just spend some time with the One who made it all…seeking answers, peace, and a plan for moving on.

Because Jimmy’s right. It’s not that long a stay.

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