Down By the Bay

It was dark and dreary. Rain threatened. I grabbed several pairs of small mittens, a few extra hats, and my camera. We packed four small children into the van and headed toward Webster. One quick stop at Target on the way, to buy Cheerios for hungry birds and a bottle of Ibuprofen for My Darling. I left Hannah in the van with the kids and the radio. All was well.

While I traversed the aisles of Target my car battery was draining. I had turned the engine off and left not only the radio playing, but the lights on. Good thing for that cheap cell phone. I put in a call to Bethany who was out running errands with my favorite son in law and not far away. God worked out the details once again. I had pulled straight through the parking space and had the nose of my van facing the outer aisle, my daughter and her husband had a pair of jumper cables with them, and I had just bought snacks. I was blessed to be rescued. (Talk about Not-so-random-acts-of-kindness...)

When we finally arrived down at the bay, we discov- ered a huge pile of bread had been left in the parking lot. It wasn't quite the feeding frenzy I had imagined, but the kids still had fun. They tossed some bread to a few swans, poked at some dead fish, and climbed on rocks.

Even the seagulls were all but absent today. They normally fly overhead, squawk, fight, and multiply in rank as we toss them tidbits. That was not to be this morning. Thankfully, no one appeared bitterly disappointed that the birds weren't hungry.

Hannah and Bethany made a new game instead and tossed handfuls of Cheerios at each other and into the wind while Jakie popped handfuls into his mouth. The wind down by the lake was cold and fierce. Each child donned a hat upon getting out of the van and several small children opted for mittens after running about the beach for a bit. Even Hannah found a winter coat and knit hat necessary.

It was probably ten degrees warmer up at Bethany's house just above the bay, and a lot less windy!

Hey, how about those Cheerios?
:0)