Come to the Water: A Reflection

Did you know that mom a la mode was born on the beach of the Jersey Shore?

Three years ago, just as my son was about to turn one, a cataclysmic shift occurred in my life.

Well, it felt cataclysmic at the time…but in hindsight, it was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I was downsized from my corporate job in the fashion industry, which then led to the beginnings of this here blog and the start of my own marketing consulting company.

I was fortunate to be able to spend a large part of that hazy, dazy summer at my family’s house on the Jersey Shore, which turned out to be not only therapeutic for me but a source of inspiration as well.

My dear friend and colleague, Pam of Triple Threat Mommy, gave me the push to get goin’ with the bloggin’ as we sat and watched our kids throwing sand (or eating sand, in the case of my then-1 year old) and suddenly things in my life seemed to come back together.

I had a plan. A focus. A creative outlet. And the haze and daze of what seemed cataclysmic really wasn’t such an upheaval after all.

Fast forward a year, and true calamity would hit the Jersey Shore, in the form of Super Storm Sandy. Where destruction, devastation and unrest would wreak havoc on a place that was once such a source of joy, peace, family and inspiration.

There was no Jersey Shore for my family last year – and from what I’ve heard, there was no Jersey Shore for many families last year, due to the degree of damage that occurred post-Sandy.

2013 was a summer of rebuilding and restoration at the shore. And for my family, that was a blessing in a way.

It was a blessing because it allowed me to spend one last summer with my mom, who came along with my family to Sesame Place and to Chicago for the BlogHer conference. She visited local parks with my son and me and shopped along with us for his back to school clothes.

As the Summer of 2014 comes to a close, I’m back at the Jersey Shore, sitting at the kitchen table of a newly restored beach house, reflecting on calamity and cataclysmic reality and how the shore was, is and will continue to be a place of hope, healing and therapy for me. And others.

Rebuilding and restoration continues at the shore in 2014 – but it goes beyond the new municipal sewers or cement pilings for me.

This summer, as I struggle still with my mom’s passing – it’s six months she’s gone at this point – I spent my time here staring up at thousands of stars, gazing at the most glorious super moons (2 of them, in fact!), letting tears flow on the dock of a bay and letting the amazingly clean and clear waters of the North Atlantic wash over me.

I came to the water.

I reflected. I prayed. I enjoyed my family.

I watched my son grow to appreciate the ocean, sing songs on the swings at the bay beach, eat entirely too much ice cream and French Fries and finally conquer his fear of the Chihuahua Roller Coaster on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk.

Every now and then a solitary butterfly would flutter past us. Or perch next to us on the very spot we were playing on the sand. I knew it was my mom, present with us. And it helped to ease the pain of her loss.

Speaking of symbols – the ocean, to me, was always a reminder of something bigger and greater than all of us. And the Jersey Shore has grown to become a symbol of strength, renewal, rebirth and restoration. I leave this summer with many spiritual gifts from the shore, and grateful for my summer-long experiences at our family’s seaside sanctuary.

And despite the uncontrollables in my life over these past few years, it’s a comfort to know that the shore will ALWAYS be there for me. That I can come to the water, and receive its many gifts.

What does “coming to the water” do for you in your life? How did you spend your summer? Please share in the comments below.

oxox

– Lisa