We were spending the day at the ocean for my birthday, it was everything that I wanted. Over the past couple of years, my drive for physical things had almost vanished. All I wanted was time and experiences. My son needed to use the restroom and he and I went running up the beach towards the bathhouse. I thought it was weird that you were running alongside me. You loved to run in life, and frequently found me on my daily run so it didn’t surprise me to have you running beside me, but your energy felt off. We started running through the powdery sand which made me laugh, it is awkward and I couldn’t help but think it is funny.
“Grab that wood” you yelled at me.
I stopped and picked up a piece of driftwood that was almost completely buried in the sand. I pulled the piece from the sand and kept running. I didn’t want to make my son wait, so I carried the piece of wood without even looking at it. We reached the bathroom and I stood outside waiting. I chatted with a woman for a moment or two about the weather and then I looked down at the wood. In my hand was a piece of driftwood, smooth, soft and a perfect heart shape.
“Happy birthday” you said standing against the wall.
It was by far my favorite birthday present!
