August 11, 2011
Last week I was at brunch with some friends and had a little meltdown, right there at the table. With the one-year anniversary of the fire fast approaching, my stress level has gotten over the top. The insurance still isn’t settled, construction on the new house is over budget, and I’m uncertain where my next freelance work is going to come from. So, after describing my woes, I put my head down on the table and said, “I just don’t even know what to do next.”
My friend Shelly asked, “What do you REALLY want to be doing right now? Just say something off the top of your head.” I said, “I want to be back at that funky place on the Oregon coast where I was last year before the fire. I want to do nothing for a week except stare at the ocean and write.” “Okay, then, ” said Shelly. “Make it happen.”
And a week later, thanks to the kind generosity of several friends, here I am. In that same funky place as last year, where the floors are warped and the furniture is Early Garage Sale, and you step off the beat up old porch right out onto the beach. It’s at the dead end of a dirt road – a run-down, fabulous little place called, aptly, Happy Camp. My cell phone doesn’t work here. That alone makes it worth the trip.
This week I will not think about fires or work or insurance or what I’ve lost and found this year. I will simply stare at the ocean, and walk the beach, and exhale. I am a Happy Camper.
Many thanks my friends, and lots of love. I’ll catch up with you soon.
Andi
PS: Here’s a little slide show I made on my first day here.
Oh, Andi, Im so glad you are there again. It looks so beautiful and quiet. I hope you enjoy listening to the waves and the sound of your heart beating. I hope Princess Nellie is with you!
I have many fond memories of the Oregon coast. I hope you have a peaceful and happy week there.
As the Aussies would day, “good on ‘ya!” for going! Friends like Shelly are a real blessing. I LOVED the simple guitar accompaniment to your slide show, where instead of the onslaught of your current home life’s demands, there are simple, defined notes following one another as lovingly as your steps on the beach. Aaahhh…. I would love to spend a week on a Pacific NW beach again. I hope you bring only sanity home with you….well, that and Miss Nellie.
Andi,
Enjoy your week in the PNW.. I used to live in Portland, OR and would often take a drive to the coast… Growing up in the bay area I live minutes away from the Pacific Ocean. I prefer the beaches in the PNW. Yachats is one of my most favorite places to go on the Oregon Coast..
I hope this week gives you peace and comfort. I know how important it is for me to get away even for a long weekend.. I still come back to where I left off but my head is clear and I can once again breathe…
I have plans to take a drive to Echo Lake over labor day and make a pit stop at Tommy Knockers on the way back as one of my friends show dog is named after.
Hope Miss Nellie is having fun on the beach too.
Marla Shelmadine