Racing

I'm racing everywhere in my life this week. I'm racing at the office - working extra hours because they're racing to a court deadline. I'm racing to finish a book that's due at the end of the month. I'm racing to enjoy the last few days of summer -

And today was particularly delicious. I worked this morning, came home and did a couple of hours worth of writing, then took a walk along the Seawall before dinner. I don't know if it's possible to tell you how beautiful it was but I'll try.

The temperature was perfect. Hot but not too hot, just the right temperature for walking on the beach in the sun. The Seawall was busy but not too crowded, just enough to make the walk entertaining, filled with interesting people enjoying themselves.

The tide was in so the waves crashed gently against the shore, adding a touch of mystery to the scene. When the tide's out, it smells better, more like the ocean, but it doesn't sound quite as good.

I walked as far as Second Beach and then turned around, stopping only to fall in love with a beautiful blue-eyed boy. A friend of a friend, he was maybe 10 months old, big blue eyes and curly brown hair and he came into my arms as if he belonged there. I wanted to take him home with me.

Because the summer is almost over, the sun was falling as I walked home, drifting long shadows across the sand, deep patches of shade behind the trees and the logs and rocks on the beach. Contrast, chiaroscuro, highlights. I wanted to be a painter, to capture those darks and lights, to somehow get that pink glow caressing the mountains onto the page.

The water caught the glow and threw it back to the sky, a perfect Vancouver evening. A perfect end to a perfect day.

Kate