Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom (And Whimsy)

Posted on August 13, 2025 under Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom with no comments yet

A day at the beach

 

“Summer breeze, makes me feel fine.”

Summer Breeze – Seals and Croft

What is perfection?

Is it scoring 100% on an exam?

Is it a hole in one in golf?

Is it scoring a 29 hand in cribbage?

In the world most of us inhabit, perfection is unattainable. We probably all know someone who is a self-prescribed perfectionist. These people are hard to miss and to be avoided at all costs. Striving for excellence is one thing by trying to be perfect at everything you do is a sure-fire way to lose friends.

A few weeks ago, I decided to get away from the heat in town and took a drive to my brother’s summer home twenty minutes away. We are in the middle of one of those summers where it is sunny, hot and humid just about every day, causing serious water shortages and fire bans across the province. Similar conditions persist in many parts of Canada and around the world. Climate change deniers are busy checking their empty wells.

A hot coffee is not the typical antidote to slake one’s thirst on a hot summer day, but this is what I was carrying in a small thermos along with a book. I arrived at the beach and there was a beautiful breeze blowing. I found a spot in the shade and sat comfortably in an Adirondak chair. Oh my, how things have changed. Fifty years ago, I would be lazing in a lawn chair, in the scorching sun, slathered in baby oil with a six-pack at the ready.

There was no one else at the cottage. Off in the distance, I could hear peals of laughter from young children. A few birds chattered in the trees but other than that, it was perfectly quiet. The gentle wind kept small, annoying insects and bugs at bay.

As I sat there, I thought, “This is perfection.”

It is rare that any of us ever find perfect peace and serenity but in this fleeting hour, I came as close to it as possible. The book was terrific and the coffee divine. At one point, I got up to stretch my legs to make sure that I could extricate myself from the deep chair when it was time to leave. The public beach about 500 yards away was crowded with families enjoying a magnificent summer afternoon. Just a few steps down the beach, a clutch of children were having great fun trying to navigate their paddle boards. A few smaller tots, were building sandcastles.

My mind drifted back and there I was, playing on that same beach as a child, practicing sand shots with a golf club as a teenager and  sitting around the fire singing and playing tunes as an adult. Ah those “Lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer”.

When I wasn’t at the beach as a youth, I was in all likelihood at the golf course. In other words, I lived my days in the sun. Obviously, we didn’t know anything about the depleting ozone layer and the harmful effects of long-term exposure to the sun. The result is that many of us make an annual pilgrimage to a plastic surgeon to have a few more potentially cancerous spots removed from our bodies.

Knowing what I know now, would I do anything different? Of course, but we haven’t mastered time travel. Do I have any regrets about this seemingly rash behaviour? Absolutely not.

Helen Reddy said it best in her great tune, I Am Woman:

“Whoa, yes I am wise,

But it’s wisdom born of pain,

Yes, I’ve paid the price,

But look how much I’ve gained.”

My childhood was idyllic and if I’m a bit scarred as a result of my sun-soaked summers, then so be it.

Perfection. Imperfections.

I’ll gladly take the imperfections.

Sandcastles don’t last forever either.

Have a great weekend.