Portion of the Sea (55 page)
Read Portion of the Sea Online
Authors: Christine Lemmon
As the ceremony began, I dug my toes into the sand and felt as grounded as one can standing on a sandbar during low tide. I glanced around at the others, barefoot beside me, and wondered whether they had ever gone as far as I. For there had been times when I soared higher than the eagles and other times when I crashed deep down into the depths of the ocean.
“On this special day I give to you in the presence of God and his creations my sacred promise to stay by your side as your husband,” the groom said.
I closed my eyes and quickly said my own prayer to the Lord, thanking him for the life I’ve lived.
“To love you in the spring as the shorebirds arrive with their crisp colors and feathers freshly molted.”
I wanted to focus on the wedding ceremony, but my mind often did its own thing. There had been times in my life when my mind was like a burrowing owl, active both day and night, and when anyone tried stopping me I became agitated and probably bobbed and bowed and made clucking noises like an owl. Other times my thoughts were still and stagnant, like a swamp, and I treated people like Lydia, and others who cared, like floating debris headed my way.
“To love and protect you in the summer as the sea turtles crawl ashore to nest.” The bride had tears strolling down her cheeks.
There are things passed on in families that go unrecognized until we really talk and share stories, or research our family trees. The illness the doctor recently diagnosed me with I believe my mother had, and based on what she wrote in her journals, perhaps Abigail had, and poor old wandering Milton also may have had a form of it. There are different types of depression—situational,
hormonal, chemical, and seasonal having to do with lack of light.
“To love and cry with you in the fall when the feathers of the birds are tattered and faded and their once-sharp colors diminished from sun and rain.”
It was spine-tingling at times to relate to the symptoms my ancestors had as described in the journal, but comforting to know I wasn’t alone in my own suffering. None of us are.
“To love and comfort you through passing winter cold fronts.”
I am glad I took that simple glistening step long ago. The doctor’s appointment I made for myself led to a diagnosis and, eventually, treatment and medicine that made a difference.
“To love and laugh with you year-round like the blooming Florida wildflowers.”
I wiped tears of joy from my eyes, thankful that God gave me a daughter, not one I gave birth to myself, but in the form of Lydia, and every bit a daughter in the true definition of the word. She, like my mother had once done, was marrying the man of her dreams, and it was as thrilling to me as the spacecraft Eagle landing on the moon. And it made me realize more than ever that anything is indeed possible—with God.
“I promise to love and cherish you vibrantly as you so deserve, as we live our lives passionately according to the seasons on Sanibel.”
The bride and groom were now kissing and behind them the sun had just vanished below the horizon, and the guests were anxious to get back into the boat and sail off before the water washed over the sandbar, but we didn’t want to interrupt their kiss.
Just then, little Jack bent down where the water meets the sand and scooped up a handful of water, then splashed it toward his mother and father, and the intimate gathering of guests broke out into laughter and applause.
There was just enough time for us to quickly sip champagne before getting back into the boat. And as I took my seat and looked back, I noticed the water had already rushed over the sand we had been standing on, and the shoes I had slipped off my feet and forgotten back there were gone.
But isn’t that what happens to our lives? We look back and before we know it a new generation is washing over us. If they’re fortunate, they might find a pair of our old shoes, and without knowing, walk in our tracks from time to time. But mostly they’ll make new ones of their own.
THE END
P
ORTION
of the
S
EA
READER’S
GUIDE
1. MARLENA believes girls should be challenged to look ahead and imagine who it is they want to become and what sort of life they’d like for themselves. She says most girls don’t give this any thought until they’re grown up and are disliking their lives. Do you agree? She also said if women could look back to when they were younger and recall the things they loved to do, they might get ideas for change. Is this true?
2. SOCIETY AND ROLES. Ava and Lydia were from two different historical periods—Ava, the late 1800s and Lydia, the fifties—yet they had much in common and would probably be friends had they the chance. What similar struggles did they both face with regard to society’s expectation of women? What pressures did Ava get from her mother? What about Lydia from her father, as well as her civics teacher? Are men still that way today?
Tootie tells Ava’s mother that outspokenness will serve Ava well, that girls are trained to be perfect little ladies and then enter the real world and don’t know how to stand up for themselves or be rude to a rude person or strong in a bad situation. Do you agree? How did each woman rebel?
3. MARLENA tells the young Lydia that she believes in her and one day she will become a success. How can such words influence a girl’s life?
4. GEOGRAPHY AND OUTLOOK ON LIFE. How does living in Kentucky in the winter affect Abigail’s internal weather? How does moving to Sanibel affect Abigail’s spirits? How can geography influence people’s moods, dispositions, and outlooks?
5. WISDOM. Ava wants her own wisdom to pick up where her grandmother’s left off, but senility has grown roots around Dahlia’s wisdom, strangling it. And her mother always shuts the grandmother up just as she’s about to say something wise. Is wisdom something women admire and want for themselves today? Is it something younger women can possess, or is wisdom something that belongs to older women only? What use does wisdom have? Is it recognized and appreciated within families? How does one attain wisdom?
6. TOOTIE TELLS AVA to keep reading and writing because those things can change a girl’s world. Ava wants a new world for herself. How does the world that Ava wants compare to that which Lydia wants? What sort of world do women want for themselves today?
7. THE DREAMS A WOMAN HAS FOR HER LIFE. Ava lies in bed thinking maybe there’s an oasis of hidden beauty deep within her own self, waiting to be discovered. She then tells her grandmother that she one day wants to be a writer. Dahlia tells her: You sound like your mother. She said that once, too. She also said she wanted to be a ballerina. Look at her now. She married your father and that was the end of that. But Ava’s ambitions are gusty strong and they’re not going to be blown over by negative words. How can every day life get in the way of accomplishing our dreams? What does Ava do right after her grandmother discourages her?
8. JOY. Dahlia believes joy is an abundant and limitless natural resource within every woman and that whenever it feels scarce, all she must do is tap into it. Ava believes joy is found outdoors and she hopes to collect some as she leaves behind her chores for the day and voyages out alone. Did she find any? Where do you believe joy is found?
9. THE GLISTENING STEPS A WOMAN TAKES FOR HERSELF. The novel makes frequent references to glistening water and glistening pathways. What do these glistening pathways represent in relation to the character’s steps they must take to live their own lives? What sorts of glistening steps have you taken, or are you thinking of taking for yourself?
10. A STRONG WOMAN. If you asked Lydia what it meant to be a strong woman, what do you think she’d say? Does Lydia take the idea of being a strong woman too far when she wouldn’t let Ethan know of her financial struggles? Is asking a man or God for help a sign of weakness? Is surrendering the stronger thing to do?
11. HEARTACHE. According to Ava, what happens when a woman loses her heart? What happened to Lydia when she lost her heart?
12. PARALLEL LIVES. How does Lydia’s life parallel Ava’s? How did you respond to reading the parallel lives? Did you at times get confused between the two characters? Did you like the overlap?
13. LEGACIES. What can mothers pass on to their children? Or women pass on to the next generation?
14. ROWING OUT TO YOUR OWN PORTION OF THE SEA. What do you think it means for a woman to pick up her paddles and row out to her very own portion of the sea?
CHRISTINE LEMMON
is author of three inspiring novels —
Sanibel Scribbles, Portion of the Sea, Sand in My Eyes
, and the gift book
Whisper from the Ocean
. She has worked as an on-air host for a National Public Radio affiliate, business magazine editor, and publicist for a non-fiction publishing house.
She lives with her husband and three children on Sanibel Island, the setting of her three novels.
VISIT
CHRISTINELEMMON.COM
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