sunday

My wrists are burned, as is a small rectangle just below my neck.
You know, because you don't actually need sunblock on July 5th, right?

I love walking to the Flying Fish for coffee in the morning.
Today I had a sticky bun too.
The guys went off to get the beach permit and then we packed up and headed to Newcomb Hollow so Youngest could try out his new skim board (which is the kind of skim board that one rides into the waves) at high tide.
Gosh it was beautiful. The air was warm and there was a breeze. The ocean was crystal clear and a couple of squirrels drifted by.
After his first few runs, Youngest decided to put on his wetsuit. (The water was 57 degrees.) After he had done so, I saw that his necklace - his cherished necklace - was hanging out of the suit at an angle which might encourage the chipping of a tooth. (It is a long leather cord with a ring at the end of it - this necklace.)
He removed the necklace and dropped it into my bag and ran off to the ocean.

Sometime later Youngest was tired and cold. He peeled off his wetsuit and grabbed a sweatshirt (also in my bag) and we stood in the sun for a while, laughing and talking.

Fast forward a couple of hours...one gin and tonic later...Youngest has showered and had a snack and gone to look for his precious necklace...AND IT IS GONE.
We go through my bag. Twice.
We go through K's bag, twice.
We search the back of the car.
Youngest is feeling frantic by now and I am happy to have had the gin.
On the off chance that we have lost it in the parking lot, we get in the car and drive across town to the beach. Sadly, there is a line, ten or twelve cars long, waiting to get into the beach. I tell Youngest to hop out of the car and go look for his necklace.
After waiting ten minutes, I decide to drive in through the exit and tell the attendant that "I'm picking up."
I race to the edge of the parking lot, lock the car and run down to the beach where we were sitting a couple of hours earlier.
Youngest is walking back, looking sad.
We go, together, to the spot where we were laughing and talking earlier in the day.
There is a family relaxing on a blanket and they notice us looking around and ask if we are looking for something.
They had Youngest's necklace - they found it soon after we left and had been talking about what to do with it.
They are almost as happy to see us as we are to see them.
And Youngest?
Well, let's just say: tragedy averted.