My wife is terrified of the ocean

Depending on where you are in the country, I guess the heat from summer is either finally starting to dissipute or it’s dead in the middle of a heat wave. It’s a little bit of both here in Maryland, and this past week has been pretty inconsistent with the weather. The high was 68 degrees on Wednesday, then a week later it was 88. <br><br>I can’t complain really. It’s October and its 80 degrees outside everyday, what more can you ask for. I was never a fan of summer though. <br><br>When I was 12 years old, my dad took my younger brother and I on vacation to the beach. It was a surprise, and we had never been to the ocean before, so I was very excited. We were relatively poor growing up, so my dad worked extra hard to get us down to South Carolina for a week at the beach. <br><br>I didn’t know it at the time, but my parents weren’t doing well. We came home early from our vacation and a couple months later my parents split up. Our family went on a couple more vacations, but never to the beach again, and not very far after that. My parents divorce absolutely devastated me, and ever since, I just never felt right about going to the beach. <br><br>Now I get it, that probably doesn’t make sense to many of you, but my parents divorce sent me into a major rut and I have a hard time remembering anything good from the years leading up to it because all I can think about is the outcome. My parents split up, and we never went to the beach together again. <br><br>Fast forward a few decades and I met the love of my life. I won’t go into too much detail, but we met in college, clicked instantly, and were married a few years later. Life is good. <br><br>My wife loves the beach, however. <br><br>And I mean really loves it. She will take any opportunity to go. Not that I mind letting her go, but she’s a school teacher, and she never has spare change or free time, so that’s not very often. <br><br>But when she was in college, her and her room mates would almost go down to the beach every weekend. She’s from a coastal town on the east coast too, so it’s not like it was a long drive to get to the ocean. <br><br>And even now that we live together, she still does it. Every weekend she doesn’t have to work, she will usually make the drive. Having been a coastal town girl her entire life, she doesn’t mind the long commute at all. <br><br>But she doesn’t go alone. Every time she goes, I tag along. <br><br>I know I just went on for almost a paragraph about how much I dislike the beach, but I would follow my wife anywhere. I love her more than life itself. So even though I don’t like the beach, it doesn’t matter to me. If she wants me there with her, I’ll be there. And I haven’t shared this part with her yet, but the last few times we’ve gone, it hasn’t been so bad. I mean, the heat from the sand isn’t very comfortable and salt water can sting your eyes pretty bad, but once you get past the initial shock of getting in the water, it’s kind of nice. It almost feels nice. <br><br>And every time, without fail, my wife just smiles at me when I’m in the water. <br><br>*see you out there*<br><br>She always says. <br><br>And every time I just smile back. It’s kind of our thing, but it also has a lot of meaning to me. Because even if I don’t like the beach, I like that it brings her peace and happiness. I like watching her swim, and the smile it brings to her face. <br><br>And when we swim together out there, it’s like we’re one. Like a long, singular piece of seaweed in the water, moving together in unison. Almost like we’re a single entity. <br><br>I said that to her once, and she looked at me, with tears in her eyes and said, “I know what you mean.” <br><br>I know she’s happy, and that makes me incredibly happy. <br><br>And it’s been carrying me through some tough times lately. I just received some really really bad news from my doctor, and my wife is going to have a very hard time dealing with it. <br><br>But for now, she’s happy. And that’s all I care about it. <br><br>I’m going to go tell her now. Wish me luck.