Moot Thoughts & Musings

We came home from Florida on Saturday. Ellis was a bit fussier on the plane back, but still overall, a very good traveler. Thankfully, it's warm here, making the transition back to North from sunny sub-tropical a little easier. I gazed longingly as the palm trees faded into tinyness on the ground below.

On Friday morning, Ellis spent an hour at the beach. It was his first trip to the beach. I had a lot of good times at this beach with my grandma when I was little, playing in the waves, collecting shells, watching the sun set, and eating ice cream cones from McDonald's. He won't remember it, but it was nice for me to take Ellis there on Friday morning.

I remember the excitement of driving to the beach, getting closer and closer, until you could finally catch a glimpse of the water over the sand and between the buildings. And then walking around the corner of the bordwalk to see the sand stretch out in front of you. This is the part where you take of your shoes and run wildly in the sand down to the water's edge.

With Ellis on my front and my bag on my back there was no wild running this time, though I was inside. I walked Ellis down to the water's edge. I didn't know how he'd react to the water and everything. I dangled his feet in the edge of the surf and let him feel the wet sand between his toes. He didn't grin or giggle or anything. He's probably too young yet, but he did look and look. We sat there and watched the waves and the birds. I was disappointed we didn't see any pelicans. But lots of gulls, terns, and sandpipers. I bent down to pick up a flat shell for his baby book and then began finding all sorts of beautiful shells, including a whole sand dollar about two inches in diameter.

We walked along for a bit. I thought he might be interested in looking at the birds, but no, what he really loved to look at was our shadow, etched finely in the sand by the late morning sun. And in the warmth of the Florida sun and the rhythm of our walk, he fell asleep.