Sharing a memory.....

The waves were crashing on white clouds of sand. Crystal blue water tickling my feet in a choreographed dance of waves.

Sanibel Island, Florida on a hot summer day.

The sky was the same sky we would see everyday from our home, but this was a different piece of it and the blue was a shade I had never beheld in a crayon box.

A trip that was planned for months was finally in our grasp.

My parents were shell collectors, this was the mecca location for treasures from the sea. We hiked down the coastline, eyes peeled for gems, screaming at each new prize. I sat to dig, finding the tiniest sand embellishments, God's sculpting skills marveled. Thinking in amazement of creatures so tiny that they started out as specs and chamber after chamber, grew into a shell that was dwarfed in comparison to even my tiny hands.

My dad's face shone with a smile of contentment and pride of his family. The glow of happiness coupled with the sun rays made him an angelic figure to behold. Mom and he were childlike on this day. That is the best way to see your parents. A direct contrast to the hectic nature of struggling to survive real life.

We sat down on a blanket to take a quick cheese sandwich break together and share what we had found in our journeys.

We had quite a haul of shells that we had only seen in books, rare watercolored jewels, spiky daggers, cat eyes. I placed chunks of sea glass in with the shells I had found, enchanted by the color and shape of each one that punctuated the shore.

We knew we were there at the right time of the year. My dad explained that there was very bad weather a few days before we arrived and that may have pushed some of these rarer shells inland.

After taking a few bites on my sandwich, I wondered why cheese sandwiches taste so much better at the beach, and thought: they should market that.

Mom popped out a bottle of Tahitian Treat Soda, the bright red candy of a drink we only got on special occasions. But brothers being brothers and having to share a bottle with one, I would miss out on the full satisfaction when he greedily licked the bottle top, littering it with brother germs and causing it to lose its appeal.

I would make sure I got the first sip next time and return the favor.

When we were done, the hunting and lounging would continue. I saw my dad bolt out into the waves with a gusto that caught me off guard, he was screaming that he spotted a rare shell and dived headfirst into a wave to retrieve it.

A few moments later he was laying in the water with his hand held up triumphantly as if he had just caught the last ball in the World Series. We ran over to find him caressing a beauty of a shell, indeed rare and magical.

I still have it

My dad once again garnered the title of "HERO"

It was only when I had grown into adulthood, I found out my dad had "rigged" the beach.

He had went into a shell shop and purchased bags of intricate rare shells and planted them in the areas he directed us to. He had also purchased the show stopping piece-de-la-resistance shell that he had retrieved in such a Super-hero-esque way.

He had spent a lot of money on that shell and worried, as he slyly threw it into the waves, he may not find it again. The dive was an Oscar Award winning performance.

I still replay the scene of him jumping into the waves
so clearly
I can taste the salt air

He wanted us to experience a magical journey......

.......It was much more than magical to me

*********************


Today I will perform something magical in the eyes of my children

Even if it is something as simple as an impromptu street dance performance or having cotton candy ice cream sprinkled with Pop Rocks for dinner, we will all be kids for a moment.

Pour some cherry Pop Rocks on your tongue

open your mouth

let them dance and sing there

TRY NOT TO LAUGH

discover

YOU CAN'T DO IT!!!!!
and

LAUGH OUT LOUD

...... and if you don't laugh.... come see me.... you need an intervention to bring back the childlike spirit that we all have hidden deep inside.

...... It's time you let it out........