Horseshoe Crabs

The horseshoe crabs are back.

And so am I.

But my disappearance and reappearance, unlike that of the horseshoe crabs which is driven by an annual biological cycle millions of years old, was driven by an unrelentingly bitter cold winter, by spending my days in a lifeless office with no windows to let life shine in, and, probably most of all, by a chaotic workplace with a leader whose priorities shift daily.

All of these things combined left me feeling uninspired.

Yes, we went to Virginia Beach and had a good time. I raised more than $500 for a charity, Preston's March for Energy, that buys customized bikes for kids with special needs. I won my age group in a time that I never dreamed I could run for 5 miles.

Yes, we finished some projects--a new heater and water heater at the beach house, and a rehab of this cute little cart that someone gave us:

But I felt like I had nothing to say about anything that mattered.

Then, a week ago, I was fortunate enough to start a new job, and it changed my whole outlook on life. It's really my old job that's new again--I moved back to the College of Engineering, which I left five years ago to work in another college. Now, I'm back there, and I feel inspired and creative and whole again.

This weekend, when I took Jodie out to the beach at high tide,  thinking she could swim, I was amazed to see thousands of horseshoe crabs at the shoreline. They come every year, but somehow, the cycle continues to amaze me.

And even though I usually spend all my time on our beach walking, this Saturday, I took the time to just sit and enjoy it with my beautiful dog:

Sometimes our beach is really sandy, but this weekend, it was covered with rocks and pebbles as far as I could see:

The beach is always a little different every time I go out there, but sometimes it's more different than others.

Life is kind of like that too, but it's easy to forget that we have the power to change it ourselves if we work hard enough.

Doug, I apologize for bringing home negative energy every night for the past six months. I'm pretty sure the old Diane is finally back.