Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Just One Ticket, Please...

This past Friday, I took the day off to go to the beach. When I woke up that morning, I was greeted by gray, rainy skies. Being the phlegmatic that I am, I took the weather in stride and decided to do something else. Who am I trying to kid?? Of course I didn't! I was mad, and decided to go the beach anyway, dang it, because that is what I had been looking forward to!

So, I loaded myself and a picnic lunch into the car and set off to the North Shore of MA, because that's where the beaches that I love are located. I wasn't sure which beach I would go to, or what I would do when I got there, but I had a backpack full of books & sweatshirts and knew that it would be a happy day despite the grayness.

As I headed into Gloucester I suddenly knew what I wanted to do! I parked at a wharf and bought a ticket on a whale watch that was leaving in 20 minutes. It was a fabulous afternoon. The ocean has a way of clearing my head, and it was four hours of peaceful fun. It was pretty foggy, but once we reached the spot where the whales had been spotted by other boats that morning, the fog cleared a little, and we were able to watch a humpback for over 45 minutes. She was feeding on fish right near the surface, and we could see her mouth opening as she caught all the fish, and then her tail as she dove down to get more. It was fascinating!

I'm becoming very aware that I have something to be treasured, in my single status, because I can still do things spur of the moment. That may not always be the case, and I want to take advantage of it while I have the chance. In the last few years I've realized that it can be exciting to do things by myself, and that there's no shame in ordering just one ticket.

6 comments:

the Joneses said...

I was thinking just the other day that I need to keep all these Aunt Lindsay posts for when Addie starts getting older, and I can show her, "See? This is what I want you to be like while you aren't married."

You're such a good example of singleness -- you don't build your life around what you DON'T do (don't date, don't sleep around, don't have a relationship...) but you have a rich life because of what you DO. I'm delighted that you're my children's aunt!

-- SJ

Rachelle said...

Lindsay--You are so cool! You are going to be able to tell whiny young "I don't have a boyfriend" women how delightful it is to be a young single woman of God. And someday you will have the best stories to tell everyone. You have quite a good collection already and I love hearing about them. This one was awesome! -rlr

KW said...

Lindsay,

Hurray! What a great day out! It really is wonderful
to be able to enjoy spending time by yourself. Some
people never learn how to do that, sadly....

Laughter said...

Ah, to be more like you, Lindsay.

Seriously.

:-)

TripleNine said...

Isn't freedom fun?! I was realizing it a little in N.S. when I spent three quarters of Sunday afternoon at the beach. I could come and go and not have to check with someone. Hurrah!

Kristi said...

Fun, fun! I went on a whale watching cruise in Hawaii. I think that one of the fun things about being single is that ability to just do "exotic" activities by yourself when you want to. It was great to see you last week!