Don't speak to me.

 

I walk the beach as often as I can. I am lucky in that it is only a five-minute drive from where I live.

 

The beach I walk is fairly remote. Once you pass the car park area, the caravan park and the few homes on that stretch, what lays before you are sand, sea and dunes. Bliss.

 

My husband asked if he could join me on my walk. This is not something he usually does. He prefers to smash punching bags and huff and puff his way through extreme workouts! 

Nevertheless, here he was, on my beach…walking.

As soon as we hit the sand, he starts to jog toward the water’s edge, calling to me to get my heart rate up. Funny man. My heart is singing the moment I smell the ocean. I attempt a half arsed shuffle in the soft sand, my ankles screaming at me, knees buckling, my heart demanding “what the fuck?”

Laughing at myself and the look of horror on his face, I cease this ridiculous pantomime and apologise profusely to the various parts of my body which had suffered and were now sulking.

Once I have joined him I set the pace. I attune to the ocean, the wind and the sky and off I go…husband in tow. The tide is on its way out, this means semi soft sand…legs prepare, calves be aware. Husband falls silent.

Immediately I am out of my head. Thoughts of work, organising, goals and the never ending `to do’ list disappear as I meld into the scenery. There is no hour ago or later today, only the sand, the sea, the dunes. 

After sometime I remember my man. Oops. Usually on our occasional co-joined walks there is some chatter. We might discuss the day we have had or upcoming events or even our bills! God forbid. Today, however, he is silent. I wonder for a brief second, where he is right now, then I spot a simple but perfect shell…looks like an angel to me…I stop and snap a photo…husband continues on. No words. I catch him up, he doesn’t query my stopping. The soft sand makes this a challenging walk…still, he doesn’t speak to me or complain. I slip easily back into my surrounds, stopping now and then to capture the perfection of nature.

As if by magic we walk for over an hour in silence. Me, high as a kite, so happy and fulfilled by my connection with source and nature, he, beside me. My mate. Quiet, somewhere in his own place, his own space.

We return to the car park. Rinse feet, sit in the car. Engine on, reverse. Then the spell is broken. Husband mentions something about bananas. We need them. I smile. He is thinking about his protein shake.

I say a silent prayer for this human, the beach and that perfect walk. In the absence of words, I felt our bond as never before. Connected, supported, understood. Mouths shut, souls open. Did I raise my heart rate? Yes I did.