Patience

I realize that it helped immeasurably that the night had been warm so the time spent waiting was only chilly. Still, it seemed a long time for the pitch dark beach to go through all the stages of lighter until, at last, the sun jumped out of the ocean and lit up the horizon in brilliant glory. My friend and I waited through the color changes, listening to the pounding surf and hoping for some decorative clouds to dress up the scene. In the end we settled for the sun itself and the seagulls who did their sunrise dance in the lights and the reflections. It required patience, but it was well worth it.