“Oh, stormy… bring back that sunny day..” (Classics IV 1968)

Welcome back to Solo at Sixty!

I’m back at my happy place y’all! And not SOLO this time. My younger daughter came down with me Friday. Funny how things work out – we left later than planned, and thankfully so. Because we were late leaving, we missed all of the torrential rain at the beach Friday. I hate driving in rain, and really hate driving in rain at night. You can’t see the lines on the road anymore! We had a great trip down and got here before midnight. Woke up to a gorgeous Saturday. Since it was just the 2 of us (others coming down midweek), I told her I would show her how I spend my time down here SOLO. After spending the day on the beach (we each read a whole book), we went to, yes, my favorite restaurant, Frank’s, ate at the bar, and had a blast. Stayed over 2 hours just talking.

The weather forecast was not the best for the week, but as I tell my kids, the forecast changes daily at the beach. And a 60% chance of rain means there’s a 40% chance it will not rain. Sunday proved to be one of those 40% days where it was beautiful. My daughter and I read another book on the beach and decided we wanted a casual dinner, so we rode our bikes to Bubba’s. Great fried shrimp. You gotta have fried shrimp and french fries at least once every beach trip, and we did. At the bar. Got my famous Bud Light Lime and was a happy camper. As was my daughter. (Side note: Wore my Carolina Beach shirt and a man at the bar said – Hey I like that shirt. My nephew plays basketball for Carolina!)

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”  Dolly Parton

So… we thought for sure Monday would be rainy which would be good since we had gotten so much sun Saturday and Sunday. A huge storm woke us both up during the night with the rain pelting the windows. Decided to sleep in until I noticed the sun was shining in the windows. Hurriedly got up and went for a run so we could get on the beach before it rained. It was a beautiful morning even though it was 82 degrees at 8:30. The storm had cleared the air and there was such a good breeze. Beautiful day on the beach. Again, all day. No rain.

Storms in life are like that. They sometimes come into our lives unexpectedly, turn things upside down, clear things out, and leave us to figure out how to right things. I’ve weathered many storms in my life, the biggest being 2 years ago when I found myself SOLO. At the time I was not sure I would be able to “right” anything in my life. One of the few times I doubted my ability. But I did get through the storm, and truly came out better. Honestly, it was not easy and it was not quick. It was actually very painful. But I decided early on which way I wanted my life to move and it was not backward. And now I find myself in the calm after the storm. Literally sitting on the beach soaking up the sun.

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through; how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure the storm is really over. But one thing is certain: when you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”

There have been some other storms these last 2 years. Not unexpected when a marriage breaks up. They always hit out of the blue and pretty hard. But now I know I can weather the storm. And truly, I know the sun will shine again. Soon.

“The Sun is alone too, but it still shines.”

I hope y’all are able to weather the storms that come into your lives. Be strong, be faithful, be positive, and remember that “without rain, there would be no rainbows.” Yes, we all need some rain and some storms in our lives to appreciate how truly wonderful life is. Make the most of every wonderful day because as we all know, none of us is promised tomorrow.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

Big beach family dinner!

Running “with” my beautiful older daughter. Actually she left me in the dust!

Finally, the other kids got down here safe and sound and so far the weather has cooperated, with storms only at night. We’ll take that!

Best,

Leslie

PS Christmas in July on the Hallmark channel ends this weekend. And the new Christmas movies start October 27th!