The beach has a way of stripping everything unnecessary away.

No distractions.
No pretending.
No pressure to perform.

Just rhythm, breath, and becoming.

Makayla has always moved through life with intensity and heart. She feels deeply, lives fully, and for a long time, she moved fast. But as she’s grown, she’s learned how to pause. How to listen. How to give important moments the space they deserve.

So when it came time to announce her pregnancy, it made sense that she chose a place that moves slowly and speaks softly.

The sand beneath her feet.
The wind lifting the fabric of her dress.
The water reminding us that life is always in motion.

Florida had already begun to feel like a place where she could slow down and breathe. When she made the decision to stay, it wasn’t dramatic. It was grounded. A quiet confidence rooted in what felt right for her.

At the time, none of us knew how much life would shift soon after.

The months that followed brought change, hard decisions, and a season of unraveling and rebuilding for our family. The kind of season that asks everything of you and then asks for a little more. Looking back now, it’s clear that her choice came before all of it, almost like an anchor placed ahead of the storm.

Standing there with her that evening, I didn’t yet understand how meaningful that moment would become. It was simply her beginning. Her transition. Her story unfolding.

Now, with perspective, I can see it as one of those quiet turning points. The kind that doesn’t announce itself, but gently shifts the direction of everything that follows.

This wasn’t just a pregnancy announcement.

It was a transition.

A moment of becoming for her.
And, quietly, the beginning of a new season for all of us.

The beach didn’t just frame this chapter. It held it. Steady and grounding, exactly when we needed it most.

And in that way, it was always the right choice.