"I believe in the sand beneath my toes"

Last night, I woke up to the bells and whistles of the plow outside my window. 3 o’ clock in the morning; I lazily scrambled to the frosted pane hoping to see a winter wonderland that would force the university to close down. To my despair, there was barely 2 inches. Why in the world did they need to plow the roads so earlier in the morning, if they weren’t too terrible to begin with? I slouched back into my bed and wrapped myself into my blankets knowing I’d have to bare the winter wind. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the winter snow. I love the way it looks after it has just fallen and gives me a great excuse to act like a kid again, rolling around in the snow and cuddling up afterwards with a cup of tea and a good book. However, STAT 200 did not put me in the “snow angel mood” and the way the snow turns a nasty brown after a while was not helping the situation either. It did, on the other hand, still call for a cup of hot chocolate.

Ironically, I choose my Jones Beach mug. Winter is wonderful but summer is fantastic. I live on Long Island and is blessed with being 10 minutes away from the beach. My house in the summer has a permanent trail of sand from the front stoop to the shower. (Even to my mother’s dismay and countless demands for me to rinse off outside) For me the beach is the backdrop to a lot of memories. It’s where I grew up. When I was little I stayed at Field 6, the family section. We’d pack our cooler and blankets and trek off to the beach. We always put the “sand” in sandwiches. As I got older, Field 4 was where I spent my teenage years tanning and laughing my friends. I even spent my first date walking the boardwalk at sunset. When I was old enough to drive, I invested in a beach pass and every day I didn’t spend working, I spent at the beach. There is everything from mini golf to beach volleyball to everything in between. So when boredom set in, escape was only a couple of miles away.

In the winter, it feels as if summer is ages away but with Groundhog Day right around the corner, there is a little glimmer of salvation. Regardless of if he sees his shadow or not, I sip some coffee from my Jones Beach mug and the warmth brings me back into the sun. 

 

 My friends and I on the life guard stand.

 

Sunset by the rocks.

"Keep Calm and Carry On"

Cup of Jo(anna)