Make a Difference

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.

He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day he was walking along the shore.

As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.

He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day.

So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said...

"It made a difference for that one."

Have you ever...

...run a mile-long track event in the sleet with your shorts falling off?

Liam has.

The harder it sleeted, the wetter his shorts became. The wetter his shorts became, the heavier they got. The heavier they got, the harder they were to keep up.

Our guy ran across the finish line holding on to his waistline. But he finished. And we are proud of him!

Mother's Day at the Scare-ousel

Our Mother's Day tradition includes a huge, amazing brunch followed by a spin at the carousel. We prepped Sylvie-Aganoti for her first ride, "It will be so fun, there are horses carved out of wood in beautiful colors, you get to sit on them and ride around and around, tinkly music will play. We know you'll love it!"

Minutes before we leave brunch, I take S-A for a pit-stop in the bathroom. While going potty, she squeales, "I is soooo esssscited! We are going to the Scare-ousel and it is going to be SCARY!" I try re-frame the way she is thinking, but decide it doesn't really matter, as she does proclaim to be "soooo essscited".

Right before the ride begins...

Everyone looks happy, right? Then the ride starts. So does the screaming, wailing, shreiking, demands to get off NOW. Add that to the fact that everyone's huge, amazing brunch is whirling around in their stomach like a tornado.

It was HORRIBLE!

This is what the carousel riders looked like when they were done.

Sometimes it is such a blessing to be the picture-taker rather than a participant.

Funny thing about this story is, over the year, it will somehow be dulled, or even erased, from our memories. And, next Mother's Day, we will end our brunch with tears, shouts of dismay and scrambled stomachs.

Scare-ousel is a comprehensive way to put the experience into words Sylvie.

Flyin' High

Daddy had a GREAT idea today! It was a Sylvie-Aganoti first...

And, she loved it!

So did Simon.

So did Daddy.

Name one person that doesn't insist on eating cashews WHILE flying kites...

Sylvie-Aganoti, did you feed that dog cashews?
Hmmm..... I think you might have.

What a wonderful time we had!