By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
By the time you read this commentary, I hope to be basking in the sun on the beach or poolside as co-host of my family’s 11th annual trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
My wife and I didn’t go last summer because of the pandemic. By the time she left last weekend with the advance party, the two of us had spent 435 consecutive days and nights together in our home. Some of our children believe we need a break from each other. Duh?
Thanks to “I Hope You Dance”, a great old song by country singer Lee Ann Womack, and the magic of the ocean, I look forward to resetting my head by tuning out the coronavirus, political turmoil, and my unhappiness with CBS for canceling some of my favorite TV shows.
Several powerful lyrics of her song from 2000 always resonate with me in therapeutic fashion to remind me of what’s really important in my life as a man, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a friend, and a person of strong family values.
“I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.” “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder.” “May you never take one single breath for granted”. “Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance”.
That line about feeling small by the ocean comes to me each time I watch the breakers come ashore in the Atlantic Ocean. Songwriters Tia Sillers and Mark Sanders were reading my mind when they penned that impressive line.
More than 60 years after seeing the ocean for the first time in South Carolina, I’m still awestruck by its majesty and power.
Womack’s song encourages us to love unconditionally, to be people of strong faith, to have the courage to make hard decisions, to take care of ourselves, and to never become too sophisticated to appreciate the wonders of nature.
Thanks, Lee Ann. That’s good advice for all of us.
Keith Kappes can be reached at keithkappes@gmail.com