Simple Pleasures
We found ourselves without the children my husband and I, on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I hadn’t been feeling as bright as usual for one reason or another but in the end I decided that the outdoor happiness of dog beach was as good a place as any to blow away the lingering foggy cobwebs.
As parents even the simplest of activities is somehow strangely unfamiliar when you perform it without children. We drove down the 405 freeway, talking about concerns and very grown up matters. Suddenly I turned around to check on our back seat passengers only to realise that the seats were empty, except of course for Duke who gazed at me grinning wildly.
The beach itself was a delight today. Warmer than usual the breezes seemed to dance vigorously and the waves murmured in anticipation as they rolled into the shore. The blues just seemed brighter and the rise in energy was palpable; one more indication that a fully open summer has finally arrived.
We watched the multitude of doggies who were running, digging, barking and playing. From Chihuahuas to Corgis, Pitbulls to Dobermanns, German Shepherds to Huskies, Boxers to Pomeranians, Labradors to Collies you see every canine personality type here. My husband commented that the beach could almost be a manifestation of the Buddha himself; as it brings so much joy to so many beings.
Our own beloved beast behaved with his customary elan; his speed and agility on dog beach are a universe away from the sleepy contentment with which he lives his life at home. Like a rocket he zipped backwards and forwards through the waves in an endless quest for the ball; fitting on an entire week‘s worth of cardio into one afternoon!
I sat for a little at the close of play; still tired but so happy to have made the trip and supremely content to sit beside the ocean and stay a while. The unceasing fluidity and vastness of the water offers a peace and a simple normality that it’s easy to forget we need in these strange days.
All of a sudden a big wet, furry, brown nose poked at my face, a friendly and inquisitive Labradoodle had come to say hello and inspect the contents of my bag. I looked up as Duke sprinted past, a muscled blur of brown and white and my husband beckoned. I inhaled the waves, the sand, the sky and the sun. I will hold them close to my heart until next weekend when we‘re on dog beach once again.
