This year's tide was lower than it's been since the summer I was taking driver's ed, and saw "Top Gun" in a movie theater, and knew all the lyrics to Janet Jackson's "Control" - which I listened to on a tape, of course. And it won't be this low again again until Sammy is old enough to drive himself to the beach. And I'll be eligible for AARP.
That's a loooong time away. And 1986 was just a few years ago.
Go figure.
The super low tide reveals the secrets of underwater life almost as if the we were playing "Peek-A-Boo" with tiny marine critters and lifting their blankie. Crabs, clams, moon shells, star fish, bullheads and all kinds of gooey things that looked like jelly fish nuggets were splayed out on the beach. And barnacles...lots and lots of barnacles. And while we normally get to see a few of each of these things at regular low tides, a minus tide is kind of like the difference between a small county fair and DisneyLand.
It's just that cool.
Except if you are a cat. And today I took my cat to the beach.
Okay, so I don't have a cat. But I do have a kid who acts an awful lot like one sometimes. And he did NOT dig the minus tide.
His feet kept getting caught in the sticky, deep, black sandy mud and if he tried to get them out he'd fall into a pile of rancid, slippery seaweed or a giant salt-water filled hole. And did I mention the barnacles? Lots of barnacles.
And my cat kept meowing "Tuck. Tuck" and pointing to his little green crocs that were vacuum-sealed into the sand.
I carried my cat around this slippery beach and showed him how to lift the rocks to find crabs, and splash water in the tidal pools to make the fish swim out of the seaweed. And the shovel and pail that we brought? Not nearly as interested in those as he was in the boats in the water. Mr. Junior Nascar was all about the boats.
There are moments in parenting that you just have to give in. Just give in and say "BOAT!" and be in that place with your kid, even though you know that they are missing out on a natural phenomenon that will not occur again until the AARP membership card is in your wallet.
Because it's not all about me and what I want. It's about this little Nascar-in-training fan who will not get out of his pajamas until he has been promised one Pixar-produced piece of crap item of clothing. And the fact that he loves boats but not water and tractors but not dirt. He is full of all the contradictions and complexities that come with being two years old.
And I just have to embrace it and love it and point excitedly to the boats right along with him.
While inwardly admiring the moon shells and the crabs and the seaweed and the moment of beach bliss with my kid who will probably be carrying me the next time we see a tide this low.
1 comment:
Loved your reference to "summery squid margarita in a gigantic salt-rimmed glass" How cool is that!
Looked like a great time.
Your little "cat" is awfully cute.
I didn't pay much attention to the low tide. If I knew it wasn't going to come again until you and Leah get your aarp cards I would have paid attention!
Have a great day!
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