The Smell of Heaven

There are just a few smells that I imagine heaven might smell like. One would be the top of one of my freshly bathed babies heads. You know the smell. The other is the ocean. It always takes me by surprise...The first smell of the ocean each time I go there. Maybe it is because when I was little we would drive from the mountains of Colorado to the coast of Mexico. We would ALWAYS get to the ocean at night, and my mom would always say, "Can you smell it." I still remember clearly those nights of arriving at the ocean after days of driving in the fifth-wheel with my siblings, beating the heck out of each other across much of North America while my parents drove in the peaceful quite of the truck cab. Fortunately, we always arrived in one piece, and we would get out and smell the ocean.
This past weekend we were able to get this amazing campsite at Cape Disappointment here in The Pacific Northwest. It is where the Columbia feeds into the Pacific Ocean. The whole time I sounded like a tour director. I wanted to make sure my kids knew that people come from all over the world to see this amazing site, and they were there. I didn't want them to take advantage of the fact that just because it was in the same state they lived in that it wasn't an amazing thing to see. We walked from our campsite to the ocean, and I could smell it. I guess it doesn't take to much to make me happy, because right at that moment all the stress in me melted away, and I was at peace. Then I saw it. It is kind of like childbirth. It doesn't matter how many times you experience it. Each time is like the first time. Each time is unique. Each time is a miracle.