As you're reading this, I'm probably somewhere between Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Dublin, Ohio. Much like a week ago, my bags are packed and I'm ready to go (home this time).But, as I'm heading back home refreshed, rejuvenated, and relaxed, I want to leave one last post about this amazing week at the beach.
As I was walking on the beach Wednesday and Friday, I was struck by how many sandcastles were being constructed.
When I saw the sandcastle in this first picture, my initial thought was the girl building the sandcastle was trying to trap some of the hundreds of jellyfish that came to the beach during high tide this week and then stayed. But, when I stopped to ask if I could take a picture of her castle, I found out she was trying to save the jellyfish. As her mom told me, she is always trying to save the world, one creature at a time. I loved her outlook on life - I thought that jellyfish were a nuisance and a pain to have on the beach; she saw them as creatures of the earth who needed protection. I hope she has that passion for living things her entire life. She has sandcastle dreams.The other thing that I loved about her sandcastle was that it was a "drip" castle. Wow, did that bring back some great memories. My husband would build drip castles with our daughters for hours when they were young, just sitting in his beach chair by the ocean, getting a pile of really wet sand, and dripping it into a castle shape. Drip castles will always have a special place in my heart; they are part of my sandcastle dreams.
The second sandcastle I saw was my kind of castle -- the kind that doesn't require an architecture degree. It was dug out, built up and then had the sand mold shapes on top of it. I watched two families with their young children build this one. Their children were so happy and busy as they built, after the adults had dug the original holes for them. I'm betting they will have happy dreams about the sandcastle they constructed that day.
So, now I have to say goodbye to the beach for a while, but my mind will be full of sandcastle dreams for quite some time to come.
As always, thanks to Stacey and Ruth at Two Writing Teachers for hosting the Slice of Life Challenge!
