The picture doesn’t do it justice.
There were a million people on the beach!
Okay, not a million,, but it was a Saturday, tourist season and hot. I’ve never seen so many people at my favorite beach, La Jolla Shores.
Picture this, I had to park unusually far away. I had a cooler with ice, drinks and food, my beach chair and beach bag. I haul it all down the hill and walk about 3/4 mile to the beach.
It’s almost high tide so the million of us there were pushed back towards the boardwalk. We’re practically sitting on top of each other.
This whole scene may sound terrible to you, but despite all of this, I was sooooo happy to be there!
The beach, under any condition, is my favorite place.
I settle in. Then a group of people down the beach a bit leave, so I move down to take their spot and have a little more room between me and my fellow beach enthusiasts.
I get the clever idea that right before it’s dark, knowing that many of these folks will leave, I’ll leave my chair, cooler and bag on the beach, trek up the hill to my car and bring it down to the beach parking lot so I don’t have to haul all my stuff up the hill!
Aren’t I clever?
Until… it’s almost sunset and I go to get my car keys.
My car keys were gone.
I lost my keys on a beach crowded with people with the tide coming in!!
Immediately I realized the foolish thing I did when I moved to my second location, but it’s hours too late. The tide is higher than where I was originally sitting. Hundreds of people have come and gone.
Yes, I panicked a bit.
How the hell was I going to get in my car? My extra key was in the glove compartment, but how was I supposed to get it? Short of breaking out a window (Yes, I’m thinking about the scene when sexy Patrick Swayze broke his car window in Dirty Dancing, but quickly realize my situation is much less sexy!)
After a few tears and verifying that I did NOT renew my AAA Membership last year… I noticed the light was still on in the lifeguard tower. They had pulled in all their equipment earlier, but there was someone still cleaning up.
I asked this young life guard if anyone turned in a set of keys? He wasn’t sure and said he would go look.
BAM! He came back with my keys!! I burst into tears! I’m not sure I’ve ever been so grateful in my entire life!
Oh! Did I forget to mention the only other key on my keyring is the key to the padlock on my storage POD in PA with everything I own, that isn’t in my car, in it??!!
One moment all my possessions were locked up and the keys were gone. The next minute, I had the keys to everything!
It’s a great metaphor for life. We always have the keys to unlock whatever it is we need. Sometimes we forget we have them or we lose them, temporarily. But, they are always there. Waiting for us to claim them.
Then we can unlock everything that this generous world has for us!
Have you lost your metaphoric keys? I’d love to help you find them. I’m good at it!