Sunday, I kayaked at sunrise for the first time. I’ve never witnessed this beauty from the water. Every direction I turned, the light shifted in awe-inspiring ways.

After a week of wild waves and wind from Hurricane Erin, the waters finally settled down. Cape Cod Bay felt expansive to me, just like the prairie I was raised roaming in South Dakota.

I could faintly hear fishermen talking across the still water.

The birds were busy. Hurricane Erin brought a lot of baitfish to the bay. The seals would pop up, see me, then dive down. They seemed playful and happy to have some calm waters.

This summer, I started singing Simon and Garfunkel’s Cecilia (Ce-SEAL-ya) to the seals in the morning. In my imagination, they are drawn to and comforted by my singing…Cecilia, you’re breakin’ my heart, you’re shaking my confidence daily.

I guess the day after this experience, I don’t want to put off what I’m longing to do.

“It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are still alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them.”  ―George Eliot