Busy, busy, busy

    Saturday was yet another busy day at our house.  Tim had to work all day, taking his youth group kids to a conference in Tampa.  I spent the morning mopping the kitchen, scrubbing the bathrooms and throwing in load after load of laundry.  The afternoon found the kids and I at a very exciting Little League game (my son’s team won, thanks to his amazing pitching in the bottom of the last inning!).   We have had so many busy, non-stop days in the last month it seems we have had no time to just be together as a family.  Thankfully for first time in a long while, our evening was completely open.  We decided it was high time for some family fun, so we discussed some ideas over dinner.  “Game night,” suggested our oldest.  “A movie,” said our 2nd born.  “Let’s go watch the sunset,” I offered.       
    We all agreed the sunset sounded like the best idea.  Last summer we went every few weeks to a little stretch of beach not far from our house to watch the sunset.  Tim and I would sit in our beach chairs and hold hands watching the beautiful colors of the setting sun while the kids frolicked in the shallow water and built sand castles at the shoreline.  It had been a long time since we had visited that little stretch of beach, in fact, the last time we watched the sunset as a family was the weekend before we welcomed our newest little family member last August.   So after dinner was cleared away, the kids ran off quickly to put on their swimsuits and gather up their beach toys and then we were off. 
    The evening couldn’t have been more beautiful.  The weather was warm, with a nice breeze.  The sky was clear and the sun was a bright orange ball just starting to sink.  I pulled the beach chairs out of the back of the van while the kids took off immediately to get their feet wet and to start searching for hermit crabs in the salty Gulf waters.   I am usually so relaxed as I watch the kids play at the beach.  I delight in their excited smiles each time they unearth any small treasure- seashells, little snails, the harmless comb jellyfish that float along in the gentle lapping waves.  I truly savor the moments they play together building sand mounds that they envision as majestic castles.    I always feel closer to and more appreciative of my family when we have time together in the midst of God’s beautiful world.   This time, though, I never actually sat down in the beach chair to relax.  I was so busy taking pictures of everything and trying to stop the baby from shoveling handfuls of sand into her mouth.  Tim was too busy, helping our sons find crabs, sea stars, and other hidden creatures, to sit and hold my hand.  We went to the beach to escape our busy life but ended up being so busy enjoying the time away that we pretty much forgot to watch the sun that set silently behind us as we played.  But, that is the kind of busyness I could really get used to!  In fact, we had such a good time, I think this summer we may have to find the time for family busyness at the beach every week.