Ride the Wave

I didn’t care where we went. We could of gotten on a plane and flown around in circles for an hour and I would of felt a tad bit better. I just needed to get away. I was mentally checked out at work, I had no interest in stepping foot in ANY doctors office, and I certainly did NOT want to see another needle for at least two weeks. For the first time ever, Mike decided to do a little vacation planning (usually that’s my job). Not this time. Mike tossed the surf boards in the back of the pickup, told me to add some warmer additions to my suitcase, and to pack whatever was needed for our pup, Sasha Leigh. The three of us were going on a road trip to the Outer banks, North Carolina. Everything about it was perfect. I was leaving. I had no appointments. No commitments. It was just me, my husband, and my dog. I printed out some road trip games, packed us snacks, and aside from that decided to just go with it.

Our trip there was almost flawless. In fact, I remember the moment I said to Mike, “Wow! We’re making great time!” That’s when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge shut down. A tractor trailer thought it could make it through, key word ‘thought’ and that didn’t work out too well. We were stranded for nearly four hours. The ‘old’ me, if you will, might of lost it. But the ‘new’ me just accepted it. At least we weren’t in the tunnel. We were stuck in the perfect spot. There was a bathroom nearby, and a huge grassy area. It wasn’t the Outer Banks, but it was still a beautiful day, and I wasn’t going to let it get away from us. We ate some snacks, grabbed our beach chairs out of the back of the pickup, cracked open some beers, and sat on the lawn with the pup. It ended up being a very LONG trip to North Carolina. When traffic started to move again, we hopped in the truck and drove for about five miles before we had to stop again. The bridge was open in both directions, but we had to take turns with only one side of the tunnel being open. Our 7-8 hour trip became 11-12 hours, but once we got there, we immediately knew it was where we needed to be.

We made it to the beach just in time for one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. The smell of the ocean, the relaxed vibe of the town, I knew this is exactly where we were meant to be. I watched the surfers paddle out, and attempt some pretty narley waves. Some would catch an awesome ride, others a quicky, some none at all. It was in that moment, I found peace.

You’re never gonna catch every single wave. Some are gonna knock you down harder than you thought. Some are gonna leave you fighting for air. But when you do catch the one, when you ride the wave you’ve been waiting for all this time, and come out on the other side, well then… It was all worth it.