Walking the Beach

The
first steps
of 2011...

...out
to the beach...

...after
the sleeping in...

...and
the mimosa...

Blue skies
of a new year
beckon...

..and
we walk
the beach.

Gulls soar
over our heads...

....and chomp fish
at our feet.

We pass
sculptors of sand
carving
New Years
in sand mounds.

So many people
at the south end
of the beach!

I want to
fly away
with the gulls
to the quiet skies.

But the kids
are on a mission...



Yogurt
with gummies...

Fudge...

...and
ice cream cones!

I just enjoy
the bright colors
of a Florida New Year.

Then
back we go
through the throngs...

...to our
quiet
end of the beach.

- Wait for me!

Three kids
in black...

...one
in Florida brights.

Two girls
plunging
into the waves
of 2011!

Egypt...





















and ASU
for KC.

Graduation...

Biking Death Valley...

...and Woofing
in a foreign land
for Al!


(Woofing,
btw,
is
World Wide
Opportunity
on Organic Farms.)

The other two
face 2011...


more hesitant...

unsure...

feet
barely graze
the ocean...

...as they
walk the beach
at the dawn
of 2011.

I watch
the building
of a sand castle...


...and I think
of parenting.

You build
a home,
a life
for your kids...

...and then
you leave
it on the sands....

Does the castle
stand strong
against
the tides and the winds?

Or does
it blow
into sands itself
joining the gulls
in the skies....

 ...
and
the
waves?

And
which
do I want?

Pull
my mind back
to the bright
New Year's Day.

...to the beach...

and the moment....

...and
my four kids...














...walking
the beach...





of 2011...