When I got to the beach house after the long drive to St. Teresa Beach, I realized that I forgot my mouth guard. This is the appliance that I wear at night to soften the grinding of my teeth. I was heartsick, because I knew that this meant a week of headaches and an aching jaw.
Little did I know that without stress, anger and worry, I don't grind my teeth as much. It is hard to feel those emotions when you are lying in the shallow Gulf with warm, gentle waves lapping at your legs. Then, your sunlight is blocked by the head of your five year old little boy. He holds in his pudgy hands a small sand dollar. He presents it to you as if he has found gold boullion. You say thank you and make a big deal about it and inside you are rejoicing.
He gets it. He has learned that if you dig your toes gently in the soft sand of the ocean, you may come up with a treasure. A simple treasure. A gift.
It is exactly the lesson I want my boys to learn. The best things in life are peace and happiness. Money rarely buys these things. It is about discovering the world around you. Finding joy in who you are. Being comfortable with yourself and the people around you. Developing a deeper relationship with the Earth and those you love. Friends, fame and fortune can come and go, but your family will be yours forever.
One day, after Gary had been on the internet, he joined me on a sandbar at low tide. The boys were playing "restaurant" by making hamburgers out of wet sand and selling water and soda out of empty beer bottles (classy, huh?). Gary asked if I wanted to hear the news.
"Are we North Korean?" I asked jokingly.
"No, not yet." he replied.
"Then, no, I don't want to hear any news."
At the beach, the only thing I cared about was my family and they were right in front of me.
Oh yeah, I didn't have any aching jaws or even one headache.
P.S. Check out new vacation photo album
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