The Crankiness Crusher™

The view that helped me gain perspective.

Despite the murkiness of the Sandy Hook Bay, it’s when I’m on this body of water that I see life, and what’s most important, much more clearly. I grew up near this bay, and looking up at the limitless sky while being rocked by rhythmic waves and listening to the familiar sounds of sea gulls squawking has always reminded me that there’s something much bigger than myself out there. The tranquility and grandness puts me in my place and hums a comforting message into my ear that says, “adjust your sails the best you can and simply go with the flow.” I try to go with the flow, really I do, but this is the first year that we’ve taken both of my little ones on my parents’ boat, so my introspective journey was a little less Zen. Fortunately for my sanity’s sake, going for a long, fast boat ride chilled everyone out, and the loud motor made it pretty easy to tune out their whining. 😉

Being on the water with my parents, husband, kids, and my friend Rachel who was visiting from NYC was a definite crankiness crusher, but the best moment of the day was when my mom called me up to the bow of the boat and encouraged me to dangle my feet over the side and dip my toes into the water as we cruised along the bay. The heat was stifling, so I smiled in relief as the refreshing breeze caressed my face and waves crashed above my ankles. In that moment, I closed my eyes and it was just me, the sea, and a spray of pleasant memories blooming in my mind. I thought about how my brother and I would lay down at the front of the boat when we were little, grasping on to the railing for dear life as our bellies bounced up and down with the huge waves made by the bigger boats. We’d turn around to our parents, flashing our wide, carefree smiles. And as I reminisced, I glanced back at my children who were enjoying this wild ride and wearing that same silly grin. That grin that I wore as a child, and the same one that I was flashing to my mom as a 37-year-old woman who was thankful to be happy.

This boat ride reminded me of the importance of doing some type of activity that both grounds you as well as recharges your spirits. Like the direction of the wind, you may not be able to control what life blows your way, but like a good sailor, you can control how you choose to cope with it.