Wednesday, May, 14, 2008, Day 12
"So, when's the last time you were at Cocoa Beach?" I asked. It was 5 o'clock in the morning and we were headed to the closest east coast beach to begin our date with a sunrise. Shanam had spent the night at Chuck's house and had gotten up at 4 that morning to prepare for our day. When he arrived at my doorstep, he was carrying a cooler full of fresh fruit and water bottles. (Now, a man who gets up that early to be with you and comes prepared without even being asked, is a man worth holding on to!)
"Maybe two years ago, or so. We usually head to the west coast since it's closer. I can't wait to show you Siesta Key Beach! It has the most beautiful white sand you have ever seen! It's so fine that it feels like you're walking in baby powder!"
"Wow! I can't wait!" I said, thinking about how lucky I was to be spending the whole day with him.
We arrived at Cocoa Beach about 10 minutes before the sun was scheduled to rise, so once we found the perfect spot, we quickly spread a blanket out on the sand. I sat down in front of him and made myself comfortable, leaning back against his strong chest. He wrapped the other blanket tight around us. Even though there were a few people scattered on the beach, as we sat huddled inside each others warmth, it felt like the sun was about to rise just for us.
We watched reverently as the top arch of the sun slowly peaked over the clouds. The sky brightened and the ocean's surface gleamed in the orange light. The sound of the rhythmic waves filled the silence and I felt my body sink deeper into the arms of the man behind me. Whatever else happened, I knew that this moment would be a moment I would always remember.
After a while, I felt my eyes getting heavier and I remembered it was still 6:30 in the morning, so I suggested we lay back and take a little nap. I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heart beat as my body relaxed completely and drifted off to sleep.
When I awoke about half an hour later, it took me a second to gage where I was. I smiled as the morning's memories gently made their way back into my remembrance. Shanam was still asleep next to me, so I studied his handsome face as he breathed deeply in and out.
"What an amazing man! How is he not married, yet? How did I get so lucky?"
As I was pondering those thoughts, an overwhelming feeling of gratitude swept over me. I prayed in my heart, Heavenly Father, thank you so much for letting this man enter my life. I don't know what lies ahead, but I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be with him now. Please guide my heart and help me know if this is a man I could spend eternity with.
I knew it was a little early to be thinking about marriage, but I needed help. The more time I spent with him, the more I liked him, so I didn't want to be headed down that path if God knew something I didn't.
Shanam started to stir and opened his eyes to look up at me.
"Good morning, beautiful." he said, smiling. I basked in those words and could have kissed him right there,but I decided to wait.
"Good morning." I said, smiling back. "Should we get breakfast ready? I'm starving!"
After our lovely breakfast of grapes and strawberries, we changed into our running shoes and went for a short jog along the beach. The morning air was moist and refreshing and we enjoyed bumping into each other as we ran to get out of the oncoming waves. Shanam switched off between running circles around me and running backwards in front of me, teasing that I wasn't going fast enough. I just laughed at him and told him how much I admired his athletic ability. :)
On our way back to our blanket we were thrilled to see sail boats pushing off into the water! A race had just begun and we could hear the men on the boats shouting orders as they tried to get the sails pointed in the right direction. It was so much fun to be right where all the action was! Shanam struck up a conversation with a couple walking next to us and I was again impressed by his hidden talents. He casually spoke and laughed with them as if they were old friends, thinking nothing of it! I'm not someone that talks to strangers very often, so the fact that he did it so easily, completely blew me away.
After we had said goodbye to the nice couple, who were celebrating their 20th anniversary vacationing at the beach, we packed up our belongings and headed back to Orlando. I decided to take a shower at my house and found Shanam asleep on my bed when I had finished getting ready. I couldn't bare to wake the poor guy up so I decided to join him and gladly welcomed the second nap of the day.
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