a crabby little tale

it was a wonderful weekend.
with all the rain and the war, etc. i think we forgot what it's like to have spring weather.
a couple days off from work always helps get perspective about one's days, and how our days might best be spent.

my last couple of days were spent organizing: cleaning out the closets (figuratively and literally), doing sculpture, more sculpture, hollowing sculpture, trying to learn how to paint, trying to remember how to paint, seeing some friends' open studios, going on some great hikes. the sunshine and fresh air both make the world seem like a better place. maybe i'm too much of a nature girl, but crowded subways, air conditioned offices and too much clutter makes for boring people, (IMHO).

i think that people should live more days as if each day were their birthday; they should do things they love-- things that make them happy.

while i love to swim and to take classes, i find myself suffering the grind.
today, i changed my pace.
today was meant for a long walk around my neighborhood. before i knew it, i found myself at the beach.

it was a perfect beach day. i was surprised to find so many people out enjoying it. i wondered how these folks have been able to set up their lives so they could spend the middle of the afternoon at the beach.

the best part of this day, was that i found myself smiling.
walking along, i realized those silly dogs, who loved the waves, who loved to run and fetch ball after ball, stick after stick, just brought simple joy to my day.
as i walked further along, i spotted a little green sandcrab. he was inching along, using two of his claws at a time. he countered those with the other little middle claws. it was graceful crabwalk crawl. so i stopped to really look at him.
he was a little shy at first; he simple looked at me and blew bubbles. (perhaps he was really just breathing, but i think he was kinda flirting with me in his own little way -- i'm sure there's some sort of scientific explanation, but i prefer to just see the obvious, at moments such as this.)
so, i stooped down to watch him for a while.

slowly, he started to circle away, a sort of horseshoe pattern. i had a feeling he was trying to keep his eyes on me. (humor, me, will ya?) so, slowly i walked around to the front of his circle and held very still, keeping my eyes on him. then, he came over to check me out. i found this to be terribly endearing.
being the freak i am, i said a few little "hello's" to him. low and behold, he came right over and made a little spot for himself right up next to me, right under the very outside arch of my right shoe. i do believe it was love at first sight.

so, i held out my hand, and he climbed right aboard. now, maybe this means i need more friends in my life, but come-on, you have to admit, it was a nice little moment. he continued to blow more bubbles at me until a group of kids over. It was at this very moment the he chose to scurry up my arm, to the tip top of my shoulder, around my back, to the right shoulder blade, then to the left shoulder blade, and then to the very place, dead center in my middle of my back, where i could not reach. (clearly there's a more practical application to that yoga stretch, than i realized.) thus, i was stuck. what should i do? as much as i would have loved to take him home and have a fun little friend, i realized his place was at the beach. so, i placed him in a shallow wave; and, with a shallow wave, (pun fully intended,) i had to say goodbye.

it is my belief that this is how we should spend our days: with enough space to find the beauty and love in little things, to make new friends and find simple love.