Easter Sunrise at Briny Breezes

My grandmother awakens me early Easter Morning from my deep slumber.

I open my eyes, rubbing away the sleep and gaze up at her standing over me.

She smiles… “It’s time to go.”

I have been visiting with my grandmother at her trailer in Briny Breezes Florida.

I look out the window.  “Go where? It’s still dark outside.”

“To the beach.  Come on and get a move on,” she says as she shakes my leg.

As she turns to walk away I roll over, falling back into sleep.

“Lynn get up,” she says, calling to me from her kitchen.

I roll towards her, the aroma from her coffee pot permeates the trailer.  “But Nana,” I say, “It’s still dark out.”

“Of course it is,” she says, “How else can you see the sunrise?”

“But Nana, it’s too early.”

“Lynn, let’s get going.  I don’t want to miss Easter Service and the sun simply won’t wait for you.  Let’s go before we miss it.”

I rise from the bed grumbling.  I’m not a morning person, and at nine years of age the last thing I want to do is to get out of bed.

Nana leaves the trailer, waiting impatiently on her patio.  She calls to me again.

As I pull my nightgown off and my shirt on, my burnt shoulders protest, reminding me once again that I had too much sun yesterday.

I go out to the patio and walk with her up the sidewalk towards the beach.   I am surprised to see so many of her Briny neighbors also up and about so early this morning.

We walk up the path, passing the Seascape Restaurant and walking up to the crest of the dune, the sound of the ocean beckons to me to come on down to the beach.

We walk over to a crowd of people, all standing on the beach looking east across the water… waiting.

Then to my utter amazement the sky changes colors – from blackness to deep ink-blue to deep purple.

Then it changes to red and orange as a mound seems to pop up at the horizon.  It seems like you can see the wisps of flame dancing in the sky and slowly but surely the sun starts to rise.

During the day, it seems to just linger far away – high up in the sky.

But this morning as it rises, the sun looks enormous moving up from the horizon faster than I would have ever thought possible.

There are reds and oranges and now yellow… the sky a masterful watercolor too beautiful to describe.

This is more amazing than I would have ever thought possible.  I look up at my grandmother and smile.  I realize that she has given me a great gift – perhaps the best Easter present I have ever received.

And then it’s suddenly morning – a new day.  I look at the awe on the many faces standing near us.  Then the preacher steps forward and reads to us from the New Testament.

What an amazing morning.  The day feels special all day long.

Years later, my husband and I are raising our sons in south Florida.

As our two little boys struggle against my gentle prodding,  I call to them to awaken. They lie still, hoping I’ll leave their room.

I call to them… “Come on, hurry up … I don’t want you to miss the sunrise.”

“But Mom,” my youngest one pleads, wiping the sleep from his eyes, “It’s too early!”

“Of course it is, silly… how else can you see the sunrise?”

As we walk to the beach, I say a silent thank you to my grandmother.  It is because of her gift to me that I  will now share something with my sons that’s greater than they can imagine.