Photo Story: Driftwood

Dear Diary, I'm feeling lousy on a sunny day. How does that happen? My parents are as inconsiderate as possible! I'm turning 14 and it means nothing to them. They drag me to the beach house for the long weekend with none of my friends, nobody around for miles, it seems. The water is still too chilly to even put my feet in. They said Aunt Bettie Jean needs to come out to the beach for a while. Yes, that Aunt Bettie Jean! Even silence and being alone are better than her trying to cheer me up with Lowcountry history or news of the Water Festival (so original! a festival for water!). Sugar, this, and Sugar, that. "Did ahh evah tell y'all about the devil livin' in the Cypress?" I'm to watch the beach for driftwood while my parents go pick her up! Honestly, has there ever been a birthday with such an exciting theme: driftwood. Which makes me think... Maybe I am driftwood. Born in Jersey, moved down to South Carolina, had to ditch all my friends in Kindergarten, had to make new friends with this new accent and all the sand and red dirt. Still, I'm not dirt, no! I'm driftwood! All the bark has been stripped away and yet, there's still something left of me and I'm not giving up. I saw this crab at the bottom of a pool of water, and I couldn't help but feel the same way, isolated, trapped, waiting for the tide to come in and rescue me.... OMG, Diary, it's so good to find you again! I almost left you out all night on the beach. Yes, my parents are totally crazy! They brought Cherry Ann, Trish and Amelia and enough Sun chips to get us all wound up! My startled face is on every one's cell phone and my 14th birthday will go down as one of the best. I'm sorry I was so gloomy and crabby. I promise to give my parents a little more credit and I'll be nice to Aunt Bettie Jean next time I see her. Maybe I'll give her some driftwood. ;) Photo: "Oh, These Photographers!" by Joanna Margueritte