The long, glittering evenings of the holiday season are behind us now, and as a result, we sometimes sense the “long” and yet lose our grip on the “glittering.” We wanted to share a different way of seeing these early days of our fresh, new year, and one you might find more encouraging.

A friend who is fortunate to run on the beach most mornings here found that keeping a tide chart on his desk was a good way to see how much beach he would have to run on each morning, without getting into the soft sand. The tide chart also showed the times for sunrise and sunset each day.

Steadily More Each Day

What the tide charts reveal is that every day now, the sun comes up about a minute earlier, and it sets about a minute later. We decided to focus on this fact this year. Instead of regarding the early months of the year as “the dark ages,” we see that spring is coming, a little at a time, every single day.

Few, if any, things are as dependable as this. Our world is on an orbital path that makes springtime inevitable. Knowing that does a lot to lighten our days, even here in January.

How We Make it Official

Among The Shops at Sea Pines Center, we are right down the road from the 18^th green on the Harbour Town Golf Links, the site of the annual RBC Heritage. Knowing how the Heritage feels – not only to residents and visitors, but also to PGA players and fans – it warms our hearts even now. Maybe even especially now. We see it coming as the official beginning of summer.

The whole week that precedes the presentation of that Heritage trophy is a real celebration. People seeing the Heritage for the first time and people who never miss it all agree that there is nothing like the feeling of gratitude and joy that comes with that magic week in April.

No Need to Wait

By the end of February, we are finished here with what we laughingly call “winter,” a time when you might add a golf jacket to your golf sweater. Still, that week in April, when the professionals come down from Augusta to compete in the Heritage, even as they relax with their families on America’s favorite island, is our confirmation that the high season for fun has begun.

In the meantime, we’ve got it good here, and The Shops at Sea Pines Center offers a tailor-made collection of places to dine, snack, refresh, re-stock, and enjoy the company of others who were wise and fortunate to find our many ways to this glorious place.