After the slowest start of any morning this whole trip (I mean, this IS a vacation), we headed out to the beach around midday today. Yes, we’ve been to the beach a couple times this week, but this was the first time we went with the intention of setting our stuff down in one spot and just hanging out for a while. In this regard, Miles has been BEYOND patient, since playing in the ocean was really one of the main things he was looking forward to.
As with many things, I was concerned that Miles might start to get nervous out in the water, with currents pushing and pulling at him, fish, snails, and other sea life moving about, and waves periodically submerging at least part of his face. We stood in one spot for several minutes, Miles wiggling his feet as the sand shifted under him with each wave. He giggled and tensed up, and the second he was completely comfortable, he let me know.
“I REALLY LIKE THIS!!!” he squealed.
From that point on, I was on the defensive, having to rein Miles back in to keep him from letting go of my hand or moving into water that was too deep. In finding his bravery, he lost the ability to discern danger. It’s a work in progress.
With so much excitement and very little time for a nap, we were bound to have a punchy kid by dinnertime. We were able to coax Miles into coming with us by letting him, once again, serve as our guide, this time lighting our way through the dark streets with a flashlight.
But would he actually sit through dinner? That was a big “no”…or it would’ve been if not for the timely intervention of our server. One of the draws of La Baula, the pizza place we went to, was it’s outdoor playground space. But with it being both rainy and dark out, it didn’t exactly make an ideal activity for Miles. Thankfully, he could still play with the blocks.
Miles also got to pick out his own pizza (ham and cheese) and he ate quite a bit of it, which was a relief. That is, he ate it after he cooled it off a bit by…dipping it in his water.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 