Let the Day Begin

Essay title inspired by the song of the same name.

February 25th, 2026

This morning, on the fourth anniversary of the loss, I took Kara to a place that was special to us, Pacific City. It’s not too far from where I live now, and is home to the Oregon Coast’s “other” Haystack Rock as well as Cape Kiwanda. It’s an enchanting piece of coastline and a place where she and I spent some quality time over the years, including one magical New Year’s Eve.

Last night, I stayed at the same ocean-view Inn that we chose years ago to bring in the New Year. Then, I woke before dawn, as I am wont to do, and took her to the top of the infamously steep dune on Cape Kiwanda to wait for the sunrise. It was a crisp, clear morning that began with stars, before the sky filled with faint, slow-moving amorphous cottonball clouds.

Soft light began to fill in the details of the landscape, and I kept looking for others who might be making the same morning pilgrimage, but strangely, nobody else came. It was quiet, still, almost lifeless. With only the occasional clap of the ocean against the cape to disturb the silence and provide evidence to the contrary. Then came the crying from a gulp of cormorants, followed by the honking from a large gaggle of geese, and finally the chirping of a pair of bald eagles. Shortly thereafter, the dory boats began arriving.

We took the lunging, bouncy house walk back down the dune and stopped on the beach to observe the sudden proliferation of humanity. Boats heading out through the same waves that surfers were now riding back in. Then a group of polar plungers assailed the incoming breakers, hollering and gasping with shock and delight. Back in the parking lot, more people were simply sitting in their cars facing the ocean—content to take it all in from sheltered, seated comfort.

And just like that, the day had begun. Life was suddenly everywhere, and those lives were being actively lived, which reminded me how lucky I am to have the life that I do. But on this day, I’m especially thankful to have had the time and space to remember and relish cherished memories of a life that was, and particularly the ever-precious lives that were.