Reverb August

Describe an unexpected moment, activity, sighting or conversation that touched you during July.

When I received the email from Reverb for the August post, I immediately knew what I was going to write about. The above photo, which is incredibly blurry due to its Blackberry origins, was taken on a mid-day run. I can’t lie, it was taken on August 2, so it technically doesn’t fit the prompt, but it’s what I’ve got.

Except for meetings or working in client offices, I very rarely leave my house during the day. I spent the winter, spring, and much of the summer either working or fretting, planning, or freaking out work, not having enough work, looking for jobs, brainstorming on how to build my business, but never actually taking a break or enjoying the potential flexibility of my schedule.

Tuesday found me up early and energized with all of my emails responded to and lots of pitches, drafts, and other things out of my hands by 11:00. Rare, but for about an hour, I had a lot of waiting to do, so I went for a run.

Instead of hitting the track, like I planned, I spied the deep blue sea, and since it was a gorgeous day, continued along to Carson Beach, not far from my house. As I jumped off of the boardwalk and into the sand, I realized there was no one on the beach. Such a contrast to the weekends, when the sand is covered with sunbathers and filled with noise, this beach was all mine, and the moment completely caught me off guard. Maybe it was the endorphins or the excitement of launching a new website, but for a rare time since I left my full time job, I felt really good about where I am in my life, including giving myself the occasional bit of flexibility during the day.

It was a moment of ahhhh. It didn’t last long. The rest of the week was full of crazy ups and downs and the general excitement followed by disappointment that this job of mine has in store for it, but I definitely appreciated the moment for what it was, letting go.