Wisdom

Today Adam and I enjoyed the almost 60-degree weather and went for a long walk on Scarborough Beach. When we first started walking, I was thinking to myself, "I cannot wait for summer! Adam will be sitting up by then, Ethan will love playing in the sand and waves...". But as I got further into my walk and deeper into my thoughts, I began reminiscing about the last time Adam and I walked on that beach - it was October 30th of last year, and Adam was just 4 days old. It was a day much like today, and Noni and I took Adam out for some fresh air and a snooze in the sling. And it feels like it was just yesterday, as does last summer, when I was chasing Ethan around that same beach, my belly full of Adam. Where does the time go? A wise woman (my mom) gave me this advice about parenting: "Don't wish any of it away, not even for a second. Before you know it, they'll be all grown up." She couldn't have been more right (aren't all moms right all the time?). As parents, we have such a tendency to look forward to the next stage, when they'll be crawling...when they'll be walking...when they'll be talking...when they'll be out of diapers, instead of just enjoying where our kids are at that moment. What was I doing wishing for a summer day, complete with crowds, noise, heat, mosquitos, and messy sunscreen, when I had today - a gem of a day in the middle of a rainy month; an uninhabited beach with only the sounds of seagulls, the waves, and a cool breeze; and a cuddly munchkin, not yet fighting for mobility and independence, but content to ride on his momma's chest. Maybe it isn't great swimming or sunbathing weather yet, but it sure is a perfect beach day.

I didn't have my camera with me today, but here are a couple of cute beach shots from last weekend, when we took Noni and Papi to that same beach. They got a nice walk in while Ethan, Adam, and I looked for rocks and played in the sand. I learned that two year olds are much more interested in what's right beneath their feet than the promise of what may be a mile down the beach...