Sand and Beaches

Have you ever considered how many grains of sand are on the beach?

Not that it is important to know--but I figure that it is possible that each grain of sand represents a way that a child can have fun on the beach.

Adults, is seems, as we grow older reduce the numbers of ways we enjoy beaches to just a few--in the water, out of the water, and asleep with a good book, or something like that.

It is fun to watch the other people on the beach, too. People are mostly chillin' on the beach.

But kids find amazing ways to remind us of the diversity of the beach. From finding some new shell, or playing in the sand, or enjoying getting knocked over by a wave, or being spun around by Pop-pop in the waves. They always seem to find a way--and many different ways, to enjoy the beach and the sun.

Me, I like to enjoy their enthusiasm as it reminds me of those first times I went to the beach and saw the ocean.

I was older than E and Jax, so I remember considering the awesomeness of it all.

Maybe that is why I still love the beach and the ocean--I love the diversity, as it is different every day and yet all so familiar.

I like finding the new and the different, or the old and familiar, like watching a pelican fish for breakfast as we did this morning. Or watching a shore bird stalk crabs--for their next meal.

Everyday is a new adventure--the beach is different, the waves are different, the color of the water even seems different; it just takes a discriminating eye to notice the subtle differences and appreciate them from something that could so easily seem to be the same day in and out.


So how many grains of sand are there on the beach?

I'm not sure anyone really knows, but I know there are not enough.