I finalised a lot on my 'to do' list today – some things had been on that list for months – so I decided to reward myself with some exercise.
What a joke that is!
But the truth is, I have exercised exactly twice in the last 2 months, and each time was with my children in tow. Not that they particulalry slow me down. It's just different.
Anyway, I headed to Palm Beach for a run/walk because it's the longest (it's maybe 2.5kms long), so to the end and back is a good workout.
I had on my polarizer sunnies. They have a yellow tint and they make (almost) everything look much prettier than it really is. Unfortunately that are a fairly ugly shape, and now broken, so despite their comfort, functionality, and abilities, they only get worn at times of low social exposure. Like running with an awkward gait along the soft sand with my cheeks the colour of tomatoes and my tongue hanging out (almost). The only thing the glasses can't make prettier is muddy water, and I have never seen Palmy like it before, but the water was foul.
So foul, swimming was banned. They didn't have to tell me though. All that rain we have had, and one look at the brown colour was enough to put me off a cooling dip.
So, I jogged. Further than I would have thought I could, but I wasn't going to stop to a walk anywhere near the tradies on a break, so I powered on. Once I had been able to walk, and catch my breath, I began to notice how much debris was on the beach. The sand had a brown layer of dirt on it. But in the dirt I saw a glint.
I bent down and picked up a coin, as thin as a butter knife. I struggled to read it, but I squinted the numbers out to see a 1961 penny! Thin from years at sea, I imagine.
I felt so chuffed.
I wondered about where it had come from, how long it had been sea-faring… then, a good 100m further along I saw another glint. This one a 20c piece. I didn't romanticise it's life to date quite as much, but during my walk further north I found two more coins without even looking! (I put it down to the glasses)
I didn't even make it to the end of the beach. I was cut off by the hugest swarm of flies I have witnessed. Running back along the beach to try and escape them I even became a little weirded out – there must have been 100 around me, following me. It was like a horror movie, had I given off some fly pheromone?
So I'm left to wonder what treasures lie at the end of the beach, now, and imagine if I had a metal detector, what I might find.
But I feel a little special to have stumbled on that penny.
Makes me smile.
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