Roadblock

While on our way to the beach, we encountered a bit of a roadblock.  

Whereas Christian and Ellee stopped to marvel at the mystery that was the bridge, breaking in half to let a boat sail through, I stood, a bit annoyed and impatient.  I wanted to get through to meet up with our friends and to start enjoying another beautiful day at the beach.  We were running late, and I couldn't believe that I had to wait for the silly bridge.  Thankfully though, somehow in my impatience, I too stopped, and took a moment to slow down.  As I watched the look of awe on the faces of my children, their amazement somehow rubbed off on me.  Pretty soon, I was deep in conversation with Christian as he pondered, "How does the bridge do that?  Is there a cruise ship sailing through?  Are there little men up there in that building that control the bridge?"  

As the bridge finally lowered and we walked by, I realized that I was thankful for that roadblock.  It forced me to wait, and then gave me the opportunity to stop for a moment, talk with my kids, and to ponder.

Life is flying by so incredibly fast these days.  We hardly have time to do what needs to be done, much less do the things that we want to do.  Thankfully, in life, we have moments like this.  We have roadblocks, we have moments where time stands still for a bit, and we are able to stop, to think and to enjoy.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing things like this. 

There was sand to be shoveled,

And castles that needed to be built. 

It's amazing to think that sun and sand can provide an entire afternoon of entertainment.  

It was definitely another fun day at the ocean.  Tomorrow we will get together again with more friends, and head over to the bay.  These will be the memories that our summer is made of.