The Heat Escape

Annually, it appears, I take the kids to the coast for the purposes of survival. Or, maybe it's just comfort, even though it FEELS like survival when it is over 100 degrees outside and about 94 degrees inside my house. The Oregon coast is replete with many attractions, the most attractive of which is its reputation for cooler temperatures and a healthy breeze. From the Willamette Valley to the ocean, only 60 miles away, we saw a 40 degree temperature drop (if you compare day to evening temperatures).

So, it was my mom, Scott, Kaisa and her kids, and me with mine at my parent's house in Gleneden Beach. We spent our time going to the Newport light house, Devil Lake's monstrous playground, Dairy Queen, and the beach (of course). When my dad arrived Friday night we had a good ole fashioned campfire and weenie roast, perfected by a rousing round of "Oh Mrs. Shady" led by my dad. 

When I put my kids to bed that night, their hair smelling of smoke, their hands sticky with melted marshmallow, I couldn't help but feel a warmth familiar to the heat I escaped grow within my chest. It's been fifteen years since my parent's built their beach house, each penny, shingle, and wall stencil added because they wanted their children (and grandchildren) to have a place where the salty air could flavor their memories. 

And since that time, many things have happened in my family. I think I can say we've experienced many trials, some of circumstance, some of faith. We've had our losses, and our disappointments. Times where we were lonely because we forgot we had each other. 

But, with my two children asleep next to me, their cousins asleep in the next room, Kaisa, Scott, and my own two parents upstairs, together, I was reminded of how good life is.  The Good Lord has given me so much, the greatest of which is my family. The family I was born into, the family I gained when I married Billy, and the family we are now creating together. As campfire smoke obscures my path, so do my trials, but God is the night sky, ever present, ever loving, and as He stays with me, so does my family. They sit with me on the fallen tree trunk, waving the smoke away, coughing, and waiting, because even though it is uncomfortable right now, it is only a matter of time before the air shifts and we can see again.