Waving hello

I love the beach. I fell in love with the mix of water and sand and wind and salt in my mid-20s, when Matthew and Gretchen introduced us to Sarasota and Siesta Key. Steve and I visited as often as we could.

I was a few weeks pregnant with Cooper on our last visit before Matthew and Gretchen moved to Baltimore. I remember resting on the sand, closing my eyes and wishing for our child the same kind of peace and happiness I had found at the beach.

Yesterday, Cooper and I were riding rented bikes along the same Siesta Key beach. We stopped for a short break.

I took a photo of the coast. And then I felt compelled to turn my camera straight up to the sky. I snapped a photo. We moved on.

This is the image I took without understanding why.

I feel certain that that blue heart, shaped by clouds, was Steve's way of waving hello.

Peace and happiness.