The Ocean Claims Her Own
I took my boys for a holiday along the Oregon coast in 2008. They were so much smaller then… and less vocal- what happened?
We gathered our beach gear as it neared sunset, but could not find my oldest sons shoes. We combed the beach, little John sobbing uncontrollably because they were his beloved pair of Nikes, and even though they were starting to fall apart from sheer love, he was bonded something fierce with that pair of shoes.
They were black, and would have been easy to spot on the now almost deserted beach. We assumed the ocean had claimed them as her own during high tide and eventually had to leave as it was growing dark.
We spent one last night there, then packed up and headed out. We visited Newport Beach, Seaside, the Tillamook farms for fresh cheeses, and a number of touristy boardwalks and tiny beach towns over the next 5 days. Then drove back up the coast.
The kids had loved Lincoln City so much that we stopped there for the afternoon on our way out of Oregon. Rented a board again and enjoyed the surf and glory that is the Pacific Ocean.
Little John and I decided to walk along the beach after high tide to look for sea glass. That’s our thing- we both love stones and sea glass. Ever searching for the elusive red sea glass.
John and I just stood staring, mouths agape.
There, up against the seawall, were his shoes! Sitting side by side!
On closer inspection, it appeared the ocean had tied the shoelaces in knots to keep the pair together :)
They were terribly waterlogged, even the leather was a gooey mess of ocean ooze. But John hugged his now thirty pound swollen Nikes and thanked the Ocean for returning his beloved shoes, his tears adding to the salt of the sea.
It took three weeks of sun to dry them out.
To this day I swear she spat them out because of the smell. They are boy shoes after all.
Speaking of shoes, here's one Shoe :)
Thank you @mariannewest for starting this #freewrite challenge :)
And thank you @vibeof100monkeys for inspiring this!
Disclaimer: I continued a minute after the 5, I had to finish my thought :)
I appreciate your support :)
With Love and Light and Good Mojo to my Tribe!
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I like your flowing writing style and the authenticity of this story.. it's crazy how a simple word can make our minds trip so differently, Im always curious about the vibes that a word can awaken in each one of us..take my entry for instance, not exactely a family portrait! .. thumbs up!
<3 Thank you!
Shoes are the "sports cars" of kids, loosing them would be like having your Corvette stolen. I can see why he was so happy to have the ocean return them, even if they weren't in the best condition when he got them back.
They were not it the best condition when the ocean swallowed them! lol
Upvoted. Pay it forward with us #MGGPayItForwardCamp
Thank you! I'll check it out :)
@arbitrarykitten You mentioned Newport Beach in this posting. Is there a Newport Beach, Oregon ??
Yes. It's toward the southern part
Now that's a nice story with a happy ending, at least for one little feller. I'm glad the ocean decided to give them back.
He remembers the pain of that loss, and crying from joy a week later, to this day :)
👍
What a great story. Road trips along the coast are so awesome.
I also seem to recall wearing sneakers until they fell apart too.
👟 👣
Boys and their shoes :)
That's a really great story and awesome that it's true. It's always interesting when an odd moment makes a situation memorable and turn out all right. I remember losing an Easter egg during an egg hunt as a child. Found it 10 years later in a decorative pot above the stove. Never smelled or anything. We had conversations for 10 years wondering where it went.
Oh how funny!
Haha, what are the odds !
Right?! Strangest thing ever!
I love this story, not only because I grew up in Oregon, and just traveled last summer to that very piece of coast, but because it's a great story, and beautifully told.
Thank you so much <3
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