Resetting the Brain

Sometimes life becomes so emotionally and psychologically overwhelming you get in a rut. You slog your way through a painful daily routine, wincing as life stings you, hunkering down for the next blow. You pull your curtains, hide in your house, and plague yourself with what Adam calls "the three-thought cycle." Your brain spins in a relentless, damaging playback of whatever sadness is in your life.
At that point, you need a friend to yank you out of it, drag your from your dark couch, and help you reset your brain.
I dragged Adam from the house yesterday like a good wife friend. I didn't know where we were going. I only knew we would get on the ferry. That would put a wide river between us and home. We had no plans for the rest of the day. I mentioned ice cream.

But after the ferry I turned left instead, and we ended up in Beaufort. And we ate Mexican because Adam hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch, and he was hungry.

It was mediocre Mexican, but it was a start. 

Sometimes it's more important to make a start than to make it perfect.

Then we walked along the boardwalk and looked at boats. 

When you like boats, they tend to take your mind off other things.

This, my friends, is a serious boom tent. Rather like a Conestoga wagon on water.

And because it was there, and free, and air conditioned (!!), we strolled through the Maritime Museum. This is one of the finest free museums around. The exhibits are great!!

And they've recently opened a reading room, beautifully, tastefully decorated. Quiet. If I lived near Beaufort I'd come each week. You cannot take books out of the room, but you can sit in their leather sofas and read to your heart's content.

I foresee future dates with Adam here, each of us happily scouring boating adventures.

And look what they have!! A real live working card catalog!! Yay!

It's ridiculous, I know, but that wooden box made me very happy.

We walked town a little.

Here's an alley. Beaufort is small and lovely.

Usually our dates are discussions about logistics. When shall we leave? Where shall we eat? Are there any decent movies? Find directions. The questions require online searching, checking of hours. How much money do we want to spend? I believe I wear Adam out with the logistics.

This weekend, neither of us had mental energy to tolerate convoluted plans.

He said, "I would walk the beach at Fort Macon." So to Fort Macon we went.

We parked on the far left and walked north away from the crowds, toward the fort.

I think he was already feeling a little better. I was steadily administering that friendly medicine of care, helping him push his "reset" button :)

Adam is a rock-skipper. At the beach it's tricky, finding shells that skip well.
We saw turtle protection areas frequently.

I took photos. He skipped shells.

 The evening sun shone on our backs, and the surf thundered.

We walked past the last humans until my feet wearied and I asked to turn back. I hate turning back. I want to walk on and on. Adam crossed the sand to the high dunes to see the fort. If you click on the photo below, you can see the fort's pole and flag.

I collected some shells but didn't keep them. I'll just keep them here.

This walk was long and luxurious. How glad I am that we went!

Marriage is wonderful for many reasons, but one certainly is that when one partner is low or suffering, the other can notice, take action, and gently nurture the loved one back to a healthier state. I'm thankful to be in a marriage like that. Adam has done this for me many times. It's an important way of saying, "I love you."