La Rue Bijou - Feeling Grounded

 

 One of the beaches on 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, a place to be grounded in nature

 

  

The term grounded has numerous connotations. Some of which are negative when parents ground kids for behavior or when an airplane cannot fly for various reasons. The term is used in dance to refer to body position (alignment, weight distribution) and movement. Dancers are firmly connected to the floor yet light on their feet. In many physical and intellectual endeavors, grounded refers to a mental focus, an awareness of the present moment—athletes, scientists and writers and artists. . . .

For me, relationships (family, friends, pets and neighbors), dance practice or walks in nature have become critical these days to enable mental, physical and psychological well-being—that sense of being grounded. 

 

This past weekend, I spent three days with my son and his family in the Florida Panhandle. We didn’t have a schedule and focused on spending time together. My 10-year old grandson and I walked to the beach and then along 30 A, discussing topics such as illusions—what different people see in drawings, which led to a mention of the Gestalt (paradigm) shift and its application to scientific discovery. 

He brought up his joy in having a 5-year-old brother and mentioned the “reveal”moment—whacking a softball that exploded a blue powder. We talked about people with illnesses and problems of access to healthcare. He shared thoughts about books he is reading—The One and Only Ivan along and the series City Spies. Many interesting discussions occur with a kid this age!  

 

We attended a soccer practice, along with a multitude of families, who brought beach chairs and refreshments for the 90-minute sessions. We made time for endless games of Monopoly.

 

 

 

The kids showed me former school projects displayed in the dining room window. We talked about assignments for fifth graders (shown under the cat) as well as for preschoolers. 

 

 The resident cat guards homework assignments. 

 

Ice cream at Kilwin’s, a chocolate shop in nearby Sandestin 

I watched as the kids and their dad played video games (Fortnite). My last evening, I babysat. The parents returned by 9 p.m. to find us asleep in front of the TV. 

There was nothing banal about the weekend. It provided a chance to recharge, reconnect and become grounded.  And it enabled me to focus on what's important and to overlook some of the minor "inconveniences" of life. 

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La Rue Bijou - My Return to Melbourne. Florida, that is. . . .

 

 

         Melbourne, the Harbor City 

My kids and I first moved to Melbourne in 1993 when I received a job offer. Back then, we chose to live in Melbourne Beach, nestled between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. When I mentioned to colleagues and friends we would be moving to Melbourne, they immediately exclaimed, “Australia!”  

“No, the ‘other’ Melbourne." 

Like many cities in Florida, Melbourne is relatively new. In 1867, three Freedmen settled in an area known as Crane Creek. Within 20 years, the community was now called Melbourne, named after the city in Australia, where the first postmaster had once lived. 

With the development of the citrus industry (1880s) and extension of the Florida East Coast Railway (1894), the community gained in prominence, which faded with citrus freezes, a fire and the Depression. 

In the late 1950s, Melbourne grew quickly with the space program and Cape Canaveral in nearby Merritt Island, which brought major aerospatiale industries to the area along with a university that became Florida Institute of Technology, which developed educational programs for engineers working in the space program. Today Melbourne is known as the Harbor City on the Space Coast. 

 Having lived for short periods in France and Virginia, I’ve recently moved back to Melbourne. Exploring former walking routes and destinations brings up a series of memories from earlier years here.  

                                     Boat launch under repair on Front Street, Indian River Lagoon

The bike rides and walks across the Melbourne Causeway. Our destination in those early years--Beaujean’s, a delightful New Orleans style café that served breakfast on its outside brick terrace. Some evenings, we headed for Shooter’s or Conkey Joe’s, both overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. Sadly, these places have disappeared from the culinary scene.

But other favorites remain—the well-known waterfront restaurants like Ichabod’s Bar & Grille overlooks the port, and Meg O’Malley’s is an Irish pub in the Historic Downtown. 

 Longboard House – These days, I’m buying tee shirts for my two grandsons. 

 

The trips to Longboards for t-shirts or stickers or beach gear. Surfboards replaced boogie boards years later. Walks to the beach to paddle around on bogie boards or collect shells and sea glass. And that tireless Australian shepherd who wanted to bring the kids back to shore.

On my walks these days, I look for natives and invasives in landscape. This interest arose from my kids’ elementary school curriculum, which included hands-on activities to educate children and parents about protecting the local ecosystem (nesting turtles, scrub jays and numerous wading birds), eliminating non-native, invasive species (Brazilian Pepper) and restoring mangroves, which at one time provided an effective buffer to prevent coastal erosion. 

Now that I no longer have a “day job,” I have time to explore unfamiliar areas--the nearby Sebastien Inlet State Park and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge as well as the Kennedy Space Center. I'll also return to familiar haunts like the public libraries. 

 The Eau Gallie branch of Brevard County libraries overlooks the IRL.

I'm looking forward to gatherings with Florida friends and family, now within a day's drive, as well as opportunities to connect with close friends in Virginia. Zoom with prosecco, a neighbor suggested. 

In the meantime, I am finishing paperwork that such a move requires and attending the Melbourne Community Theater later today. Volunteering, house hunting and cafe sitting are also in the plans. . . . 

            Clouds over Elbow Creek, which feeds into the Indian River Lagoon 
 

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