Today was supposed to be 77 degrees and with the weather predicting rain the next two days, we decided to head to the beach after Aaron was done working for the afternoon. A short 20 minute drive brought us to Pepper Park, and as soon as we stepped out of the car, the breeze which was so delightful all day felt chilly… but no matter for the adventurous Kazmierczaks - we were at the ocean! Time to play and have fun!!
We quickly set up our picnic dinner for later and ran down to the water. The wind had picked up but we were thrilled to discover that the water was warm compared to the air!
At first, the kids were a little hesitant as they’d not been in salt water since they were babies. It’s salt free all the way in the Great Lakes! But after a few minutes running away from the waves, they were drawn into the fun; I have only witnessed delight like this a few times in my children. It was so pure and so exuberant and so lacking in fear or inhibition. Simply reveling in creation and the moment.
Until it wasn’t. For over 45 minutes they played and splashed together like best friends on holiday. Then suddenly, they realized their suits were full (and by full I mean overflowing) with sand. One cried about the discomfort and began to shiver uncontrollably as we dumped at least a half cup of sand from the suit. A Portuguese Man ’o War was spotted on the beach (without its tentacles- just the gorgeous blueish purplish float was left) and another child was overcome with fear and became convinced severe injury was imminent as a stinging sensation was perceived (under the protective covering of the swimsuit!). The third child was in dire need of a functional restroom. So two cried on the beach while the latter was hustled 1/4 mile to a dirty beach restroom with no toilet seats. “No, no,” they cried as I suggested we return home and eat our picnic in our RV after warm showers… “Daddy left work early for this! We cant ruin it for him!” ❤️
For everyone’s sake, as the wind picked up and our lips turned blue, we trudged back to the car with our full picnic basket in tow.
The delight was worth it, though.
Comments