Day Ten

Relaxation is settling in today. I spent an hour this morning walking the beach with Patton, our standard poodle, and did not see a soul. Alligator Point is like a forgotten place in time. No high rises, no tee shirt shops, no restaurants. No convenience stores. Nothing except houses, most of which are empty this week. All total today we saw less than twenty people on the beach.

Tyler and Chase slept until 11am. Drew had to return home, so Patty and I had a chance to just sit and talk, a rare opportunity. The late morning and early afternoon were spent reading, writing some of my thoughts, and then napping.

The required trip to Coastal Restaurant in Panacea for “all you can eat” fried shrimp was a late lunch. The sun came out when we arrived back at the cottage. The late afternoon included walking the beach and watching the sun set.

I noticed a book tonight that was on a table in the dining room, The Art of Doing Nothing. Doing nothing is a challenge for me. Whether it is conditioning, the drive to get somewhere, or the pattern of staying mentally busy, simply doing nothing has always been a challenge. I usually find that I can do it in snippets rather than long stretches of time.

I was successful for a few minutes today. It felt nice. I actually did nothing a couple of times today. Speaking of that, I think I will try it now. See you tomorrow.