Love Note – Day 13

This cold, slate grey Saturday morning in central Pennsylvania reminded me of winter days on the coast of Maine when sea smoke rises from the harbor. The sea is a part of me I have not visited for awhile.

I spent my 20s on the Maine coast, launching my adult and professional life, hanging around harbors, learning, exploring, talking to scientists and fishermen about how the Gulf of Maine was changing.

They were already seeing effects of warmer water temperatures, though we didn’t yet call it climate change. So much is changing as the Gulf of Maine warms faster than 99 percent of the global ocean. Maine shrimp are all but gone. Lobster is moving north to cooler water temperatures.

Among the rocks and waves, and all that raw energy of nature, I found my own footing and a wild peace during my 13 years in Maine.

Last weekend, we watched the movie “Cast Away.” Tom Hanks plays a man marooned on an island who survives because he learns to build a raft strong enough to withstand the smashing waves of the surf. If he can get beyond those waves, he can reach open sea where he is rescued by a ship. This all takes about four years.

The movie nailed the raw, punishing power of the waves. Man versus sea — an age-old story that reminded me of the all the people I met who make a living from the sea.

Soon, I’ll get to introduce our family to Maine this summer.

My husband and stepsons have never been to Maine. My stepsons, both hunters and fishermen, are launching lives of their own. My older stepson is newly married. His younger brother graduates college this spring.

Before we head inland to the mountains and lakes, with a little luck we can get out into the Gulf of Maine. Monhegan Island, 10 miles off the coast, is calling. I picture us hiking the rocky cliffs, watching the crashing surf and sharing that sense of wild peace and possibilities of the open sea.

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