Today is Anthony's birthday...8 years old, hard to believe! The day started with him searching for his birthday presents hidden through the house...then b/c the heat was so intense it was off to the pool. For a cake, I made cupcakes...on the bbq, that's right--on the bbq. We don't have a stove here and the bbq is the next best thing...turned out pretty good once you cut off the bottom burnt layer.
But we ended the day with a swim at the beach. We've made friends with another family (they also homeschool) and they came along to the beach as well, a mom and 2 boys close to our guys ages.
It was just us and a few fishermen further down, a beautiful blue sky surrounded us, it was so hot even as the sun was setting and made jumping and splashing in the ocean that much more delicious. There is something awe inspiring about swimming in the ocean, being tossed by a wave and ground into the sand like I was nothing more than a seashell. Something awe inspiring and thrilling.
As we were swimming I remember a warning an Aussie friend of mine gave me shortly after we arrived. He said, make sure you don't swim between 4pm and 8am...'how come?' I asked...'Its feeding time'.
It was currently 4:15pm. So I asked myself, are sharks on time? Surely its not 4pm sharp is it? Its not like the old Bugs Bunny episode where the sheep dog and the wolf go to 'work' chasing and protecting and a horn blows exactly on time...is it?
So we played on...okay, relax we were not very deep...we were only knee deep...okay almost waist deep for Nate meaning it was waist deep for me as well (he's grown, I haven't). But at that depth surely we would see something swimming around right? We had a jolly time, riding the waves, we were a bunch of boys challenging each wave with adolescent bravado only to be tossed like an acorn.
Such fun.
I kind of noticed but didn't take too much concern to the amount of seagulls that had been gathering on the beach near us. They seemed quite interested in us, like they were enjoying our little fun. They seemed to be waiting for something, but no worries they were not bothering us.
Finally, the parent of the other children joining us came running to tell us we should either get out of the water or move in shallower (ankle deep). The birds are gathering because that is what they do when the sharks feed, they clean up the mess on the beach.
Isn't it interesting how your mind and actions can change so quickly when fear replaces fun...adrenaline is a lovely thing. I'm not sure Anthony touched the water on his way, Nate and the other boys are at an age where they want to test fate and they continued to play around deeper than my comfort level. It was one of the fishermen who came by moments later and said a 4 ft shark just got away on him and advised us to get out of the water pronto. Out we came.
The sharks weren't on time, it was after 4:30...but the birds seemed to know they just needed to wait...apparently they have seen this kind of stupidity before.
If we make it home with all appendages it will once again be a moment of unmerited grace from God. But we still had a lot of fun and Anthony is a bold 8 year old...he can confidently say he swam with the sharks on his 8th birthday...and lived to tell the tale.
But we ended the day with a swim at the beach. We've made friends with another family (they also homeschool) and they came along to the beach as well, a mom and 2 boys close to our guys ages.
It was just us and a few fishermen further down, a beautiful blue sky surrounded us, it was so hot even as the sun was setting and made jumping and splashing in the ocean that much more delicious. There is something awe inspiring about swimming in the ocean, being tossed by a wave and ground into the sand like I was nothing more than a seashell. Something awe inspiring and thrilling.
As we were swimming I remember a warning an Aussie friend of mine gave me shortly after we arrived. He said, make sure you don't swim between 4pm and 8am...'how come?' I asked...'Its feeding time'.
It was currently 4:15pm. So I asked myself, are sharks on time? Surely its not 4pm sharp is it? Its not like the old Bugs Bunny episode where the sheep dog and the wolf go to 'work' chasing and protecting and a horn blows exactly on time...is it?
So we played on...okay, relax we were not very deep...we were only knee deep...okay almost waist deep for Nate meaning it was waist deep for me as well (he's grown, I haven't). But at that depth surely we would see something swimming around right? We had a jolly time, riding the waves, we were a bunch of boys challenging each wave with adolescent bravado only to be tossed like an acorn.
Such fun.
I kind of noticed but didn't take too much concern to the amount of seagulls that had been gathering on the beach near us. They seemed quite interested in us, like they were enjoying our little fun. They seemed to be waiting for something, but no worries they were not bothering us.
Finally, the parent of the other children joining us came running to tell us we should either get out of the water or move in shallower (ankle deep). The birds are gathering because that is what they do when the sharks feed, they clean up the mess on the beach.
Isn't it interesting how your mind and actions can change so quickly when fear replaces fun...adrenaline is a lovely thing. I'm not sure Anthony touched the water on his way, Nate and the other boys are at an age where they want to test fate and they continued to play around deeper than my comfort level. It was one of the fishermen who came by moments later and said a 4 ft shark just got away on him and advised us to get out of the water pronto. Out we came.
The sharks weren't on time, it was after 4:30...but the birds seemed to know they just needed to wait...apparently they have seen this kind of stupidity before.
If we make it home with all appendages it will once again be a moment of unmerited grace from God. But we still had a lot of fun and Anthony is a bold 8 year old...he can confidently say he swam with the sharks on his 8th birthday...and lived to tell the tale.
Wow....you guys are brave!
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday Anthony! I’m enjoying keeping up with all of you through the blog and now instagram. Glad you guys didn’t get eaten by sharks!
ReplyDelete