three hundred words a day. july 1.

I love the summertime.

Just a moment, let me qualify that statement.  

I love the summertime… in Coronado. 

As I drive over the bridge that leads to town for the first time each summer, my body begins to relax as if on cue.  My lungs expand, I can breathe.  The tension I carry around with me, day in and day out at home, mysteriously evaporates into the cool, ocean air.  The physical changes are palpable. 

And eventually, my stubborn mind follows suit.

This is my happy place.  It is good.
At times I wonder if the spell would be broken should the fates make it possible for us to live here year round.  Would this place become just like any other place to me?  Would it lose its magic?

Somehow I do not believe so.  Somehow I know that what draws me here is more than an escape from my current reality.  A chance to get away for a bit.  No, it is more than that.  Much more.

It is the peace that all is right when my feet are in the sand and the sun is on my face and my gaze is on the horizon.  It is the catch in my throat, the hope in our future, as our country’s flag flies high overhead.  It is the joy on the faces of my littles dancing on Sundays in the park.  It is the strength that awes me as I watch those who serve do what they do for me, for us.  It is the history I have with this Island.  It is the smiles that come more freely, the words that are spoken more gently, the laughter that bubbles out of me.

Yes, my heart will forever belong to this place, whether summertime or spring, wintertime or fall.