To swim or not to swim? That is the question. 

Over the weekend I was fortunate enough to be lying on the beach, toes in the sand, sun shining down on me, my body enveloped by warmth☀️

The ocean went for as far as my eyes could see, blues and aquamarines, waves crashing, pure heaven on Earth.

I wanted to swim...I wanted to swim real bad. 

I wanted to soak my entire body in the salt of the ocean, wash away the worries of the day and float and play and laugh and jump...but there was a warning sign on the beach about Portuguese Man Of War...
... so I waited. 

I waited and I watched 👀

Nobody was going in 🤬

This was not a good sign 😏

Now, I’m one to take a risk, to do what most others won’t do, to give it a shot and see what happens...but there’s (usually) a method to my madness😉

💫Sometimes I take the risk because I feel like I have enough knowledge to make it an “educated” risk. 

💫Sometimes I take the risk because my gut feeling tells me “Yes. Do THAT. You will be OK.” 

💫And sometimes I take the risk because, well, we’ve got one chance at this life and I’m going all in. 

In this case, I took the risk because I’ll be damned if I was going to leave the island having never jumped in the ocean😜

As I made my way down to the water, I told myself if I got stung, someone would surely pee on me...right?!? 🤣😂 (Not a solid plan!) 

The fear of those damn Man Of Wars nearly made me turn back four times on the 20 foot walk to the water...but I had made up my mind.
I was all in.

And so in I went 🌊

As my toes touched the water, then my feet, then my legs, I looked around feeling close to panic and scanned the area before diving into the waves, my body feeling tense and afraid...but I didn’t see any creatures and there was no room left to think...so I dove. I dove right in, head first, into the waves.

As I popped up, I felt the fear fading...I felt excitement and joy surfacing. I started to relax and I started to jump through the waves, laughing at myself, and I kept playing. 

I floated. I splashed. I nearly lost my top. 🤦🏻‍♀️

And before I knew it, I looked around and I’ll be damned...a family was swimming and playing too. And then a couple came in. And then two young girls. 

❤️So much happiness❤️Everyone smiling❤️Sun shining down❤️

About an hour later as I sat reading my book, the Dad of the family that had come in approached me and said, “We saw that sign and no way were we going in until someone else did. We kept joking how if someone else goes in and doesn’t get stung, maybe we would too...so thank you.” ...And I just laughed and told him how I was feeling the same way, but then I finally said screw it, I’m diving in...here we go! And we both laughed and talked about how great it felt to finally get in there. 

Often times it takes someone being courageous enough or brave enough to test the waters before others will follow. In this VERY small example, that someone happened to be me. 

As I look around today, current state, so much fear, so many unknowns, I see SO MANY others who are being brave and courageous in 
MUCH. BIGGER. WAYS.
...And I am so grateful for them. 

💥Fellow healthcare workers stepping into the unknown to provide care for others. 

💥Fellow professionals redefining the “here and now”, adjusting their offerings to move with these crazy times. 

💥Neighbors and friends offering helping hands to their communities. 

💥Teachers shifting gears to keep educating our kiddos in new and different ways. 

SO MANY AMAZING PEOPLE. 

✨Thank YOU for diving into the unknown 
and being brave✨

I am SO grateful for YOU💕