I had the privilege of spending a couple of short days at Hilton Head island, SC, with some of my girlfriend’s family. It was relaxing for a number of reasons, and exciting for another entirely different set of reasons. Still thinking through a lot of what went on, what was said, what was done. Walking and talking on the beach, though, was a memory- and relationship-building experience.

The sun was bright as winter suns can be, full of glare, like the enthusiasm of young children that can be so boisterous and unabashed; the sand cold—here soft, here firm—beneath the feet. I’ve been sick for a number of days now with nothing too serious, but I deferred to my inner child when wisdom said, “Stay inside and don’t walk around in that cold water!”

I had the privilege of spending a couple of short days at Hilton Head island, SC, with some of my girlfriend’s family. It was relaxing for a number of reasons, and exciting for another entirely different set of reasons. Still thinking through a lot of what went on, what was said, what was done. Walking and talking on the beach, though, was a memory- and relationship-building experience.

The sun was bright as winter suns can be, full of glare, like the enthusiasm of young children that can be so boisterous and unabashed; the sand cold—here soft, here firm—beneath the feet. I’ve been sick for a number of days now with nothing too serious, but I deferred to my inner child when wisdom said, “Stay inside and don’t walk around in that cold water!”