CANNON BEACH, PNW 2024

This was a day that I will most likely never forget.  Not because I was exploring a beautiful coastline on the Pacific North West of Oregon.  Not because I was in nature which is always my favorite place to be...and not even because I was filled with awe and wonder with the massive 235 ft, 15-16 million year old "Haystack Rock" behind me.  It was all because of a woman, a stranger who approached me and the words she said.  And it was also because of a little boy struggling to make his way down the beach.  

It was early and the air was heavy with fog.  I was dressed in layers with binoculars and a camera hanging on my shoulder.  I noticed her as she approached me in bare feet, a black skirt that fell below her knees and sporting a teeshirt.  She must be a local was my very first thought!  "Can I take your picture", she asked.  I replied no, but thank you.  She turned to walk away and I heard her reply that she actually wanted it for herself.  Oh, okay. Sure I said... and so she had me turn for a profile pic and took 3 shots from that angle. She showed me the photos and said "It was just what I was looking for.  You look like you belong here." And then she thanked me and just walked away!

   YOU JUST LOOK LIKE YOU BELONG HERE!

No one in my entire life has ever told me that I look like I belonged anywhere! In fact,  most of the time I struggle with feeling like I belong and so there on a strange beach in the face of wonder and beauty...a stranger made me feel a part of it all! 

I sat down on a nearby tree that had somehow come to be a part of this raw and rugged place.  I was mulling over what had just happened when I spotted them out of the corner of my eye.  A man and two young boys.  The older boy was playful and running along without seeming to have a care.  He was most likely 5-6 years old. The smaller boy was holding the man's hand and struggling to keep up. He looked to be 2-3.  He wasn't being dragged but anyone could tell that the pace was more than his little legs could manage. I watched and waited  feeling uncomfortable with what I was witnessing.  Finally the man let go of the toddlers hand and he fell  exhausted face first into the sand.  He just lay there sobbing quietly.  After just a few short minutes, the man reached down and took the toddlers hand and off they went down the beach again.  The little boy didn't protest or try to pull away.  He just walked.  One foot in front of the other...and he kept walking until they were out of sight.  

I've often thought about that little boy and wondered how he is. I've wondered if he's safe and what his story is.  I've wondered if anyone else noticed on the beach that day that this child was full of so much grit and courage.  I've also wondered if there was something I should have done or said in the moment.  

There are moments in time...and then there are MOMENTS IN TIME!  I will always remember Haystack Rock as a special place because for once I felt like I belonged.  And I witnessed a small child show me how to deal with hard days and difficult times without saying a word.  He showed me that no matter what is going on inside or around us that sometimes all we can do is simply put one foot in front of the other and then do it again.  

Dealing with Breast Cancer is like that...we just have to do the best we can one day at a time and then do it all over again.  And if we happen to fall flat on our face from exhaustion, take a few deep breaths, pick ourselves up and keep on walking.