Suspicious Activity

It all started with me trying to teach Charlie a valuable lesson about sharing and grace.  He had been contentedly playing in his hole at the beach when a few bigger kids came and asked to play with him.  Jason, Charlie and I were thrilled.

They all played happily enough in the hole for a few minutes, but soon the big kids got bored and asked if they could play with the football and frisbees we'd brought.  Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Charlie is no athlete yet, so he soon went back to the hole.

As we watched all of the kids play, Jason and I wondered aloud at parents bringing their children to the beach without a single beach toy...odd.  I remember my parents buying me a great big cup on our first beach trip -- nothing fancy, but we were able to make sand castles.

Anyway, as the sun grew hotter and our tummies started to rumble, Charlie started to get fussy, and Jason and I decided that it was time to leave for lunch.  I thought it would be a great idea to give the big kids one of our three frisbees to keep (Charlie gets them everytime we go to Red's with his kids' meal).  Charlie, however, did not agree.

But, you know me -- once I have an idea and am convinced it would be a good developmental lesson, there's no going back.  That is how the tantrum started.

Eventually we got Charlie up to the showers by the pier and his cries just grew louder as we tortured him by rinsing the sand from every inch of his body.  Then apparently we were completely out of line when we tried to dry him off and change him into dry clothes.  To the point that his cries went from general "Nos" and "Stop Its" to "Get your hands off me!"  That is when we started attracting attention.

First there were just the sympathetic glances from other parents, but then a middle-aged man on a bike started riding in wide circles around us.  He kept looking from Charlie to me and Jason, until he got off his bike and just stood nearby watching. 

All of a sudden it occurred to both Jason and me, he thought we were kidnapping Charlie!  It was all we could do not to fall over laughing -- despite Charlie's ongoing rant.

The crazy part is, we may have thought the same had we been watching.  I mean, where did the child learn the phrase, "Get your hands off me!" in the first place?  It sounds exactly like something I would teach him to yell at a stranger trying to grab him.

Thankfully, Charlie eventually calmed down and made it clear through his words and actions that we were, in fact, his parents, but honestly, it's amazing how someone else's perception of a situation can make you feel like you are doing something wrong.  Obviously, we were not kidnapping our own son, but both Jason and I felt somewhat like felons for a few minutes.

The rest of my birthday was much less eventful, but terribly fun.  Despite the major changes and uncertainty coming our way, I am convinced that 35 will be my best year yet!