Put the camera away and play!

Yesterday afternoon we went to the beach. It is my husband's grandfather's house and it's on a lovely sandy beach on Lake Champlain. Big Bro and Lil Sis loved it. "It's the biggest sandbox you've ever seen, isn't it?" asked their grandmother.

The kids played in the sand with trucks and scooped it into piles with plastic shovels. They were sitting in the dappled light of the shaded part of the beach. They were both wearing baseball caps, shorts and t-shirts, and it was adorable.

They tip-toed down to the hot sand with their grandmother helping the big one, and me bringing up the rear with my eye on the little one. "I do it myself!" Lil Sis exclaimed.

They ended up walking on the cement barrier wall because the sand was so hot. Piles of "bone white driftwood" (as their Dad would say) covered the beach some pieces were small, some the size of trees. The neighbor was gathering it up into piles the best he could. Down the beach you could see huge tree tepees of driftwood set up and ready to go for the biggest bonfires. "They light them all at the same time," Grandma said. "All up and down the beach. It really is a sight!"

The kids eased into the water. I joined them wading in up to my ankles. Lil Sis went all the way into the water she didn't mind getting her shorts all wet. Even her shirt was getting wet. She had on her cute little hat with pigtails sticking out. It was just so wonderful the way the light was reflecting off her and the water as she smiled and crouched down deeper into the water. Big Bro wanted to climb a huge tree of driftwood near the shore. Grandma climbed up to help him feel brave enough to climb up too. 

"Look, I'm getting really wet!" he said. 

"You are wet, "I said, "but not as wet as Lil Sis!"

We threw stones in the water, we tried to skip them but they were too boxy and bulky. We threw sticks, we splashed. I kept checking Lil Sis to see if her hands were too cold or if her lips were turning blue. Amazingly she was fine even though she was in the water for a long time. The sun was hot and the water wasn't even a foot deep. We built sand castles at the waterline, then sat on the hot, dry sand and dug our feet in the heavy sand below the water. Big Bro built a sand cave that he filled with water. He was learning about sand, water, physics and erosion.

I didn't have my camera so wasn't snapping pictures like I normally do. It was really nice. I was fully present in the moment-- though I did cheat a bit and ask Grandma to snap a couple pictures with her phone. Oops.

Put away those cameras once in a while and just play.