Dayclean

Another interesting component to my vacation in Edisto was historical. There is tons of history on the island, to be sure; but there is a strong possibility that there is personal history for me as well. According to my family, my grandfather Jesse Beach moved to Georgia from the South Carolina coast. He was allegedly of Gullah heritage. For those who aren't familiar, Gullah people are African-Americans who hail from the Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia who have maintained a unique culture and language. The Gullah language is a mixture of English, Portuguese, several African languages.

While I was there, I found from several locals that there were a number of Beaches in the area (not sandy beaches but people with my last name of Beach! LOL!). I plan on going back and looking specifically for my distant relatives. So as I toured of the island, I was especially interested in the history of the area as it very well could be my history.

Our tour guide (who could trace his family roots on the island back to the 1600s) knew a little Gullah. One word that stuck with me was the Gullah word for morning. They call it dayclean. What a poetic and accurate way to describe the morning.

Dayclean. Each day is a new day. We begin with anew. Dayclean to me means leaving aside yesterday - good, bad or indifferent - and embracing each day as a new day, a fresh start, a clean slate.

What a wonderful way to view the day. Yesterday is over. Tomorrow isn't here. We have today and we start each day fresh and clean.