Breathe

It was the sound of the early morning crashing of the waves
that stayed with me
from  our two week stay at    
my mother's friend's beach house.  
It flushed out the ugly reason we were  
there in the first place.  
   
 I was fourteen years old then, at a time in my life when I should have needed my father. I refused to allow myself to feel it.  
Still I loved the ocean long before    
the beginning of the divorce that  
was pending  between my parents.  
Who could've known it was just the first  
of many times they would take  
each other to Court to undo  
the ties that bound them.  
   
I, myself, looked forward to the end  
of not only the wife beating  
but of the ceasing of the bickering that  
always preceded it.  
I knew we were hiding out at the ocean  
so my father couldn't find us.  
it was a great reason for our coming here, one of which had my utmost approval.  
   
It was a wonderful time of the year to be at the beach.The days were hot and the nights mild. I, myself, treasured every moment of each day of this glorious adventure at sea. I felt a sense of freedom and a growing one of strength inside me. I never wanted our time there to end so when one week turned into two, I was thrilled all the more.  
   
Of course, there was an under lying sadness for our being there. Still,  I wouldn't let it rob me of my ongoing joy.  
I remember little else other than the way that it felt to feel so free just to be able  
to do anything I wanted all day for days on end. It felt like heaven to me.    
Finally, I could breathe!