A Perfect Day!

I think I've only mowed the lawn - maybe - 5 times this summer. It has been so very dry! This past Saturday, after spending a nice relaxing morning with Matt, I got out and spent about three hours in my yard mowing, trimming, and weeding. Next thing I know, it's 3:30pm. and we still haven't had lunch! Matt calls me from the window and tells me I have a phone call. Monika, a friend from the Smyrna Opera House (SOH), says it's beautiful and can she stop over. She arrives in a electric blue 1967 Skylark convertible with the top down, of course! Matt was so excited. He'd never been in a convertible. We picked up some KFC, and headed out to Woodland Beach. Before the 20th century, vacationers skirted this beach in steamers, on their way to Cape May from Baltimore, across the Chesapeake Bay to Chestertown and on to Bombay Hook Landing, just south of here. It is where the Delaware River becomes the upper Delaware Bay.

We pulled up to the parking lot at high tide. The view was of local folks with crab nets, and fishing poles walking up and down the new steel fishing pier, 5 or 6 families on the small beach taking in the next to last day of summer sun, and a strange man playing with a limbless tree that had washed ashore.

He was wearing a crotchet budweiser hat, t-shirt, long pants, and no shoes. We sat and watched while we were feeling the breeze and nice warm sun on our faces. Finally, the man scooted the tree across the sand, and mounted it in the water. What on earth? He found another floating board and used it as a paddle. He skirted the shoreline and proudly where he should be saddled on the thing! We were perplexed and started towards the cement boat ramp when Matt yelled out to him! "How's the water?" The stranger answered, "Fine, come on it - no wait, I'll come to you!" At first look, I thought, how I was witnessing a spontaneous moment in this man's life! I secretly wished I had done it first! I reminded Matt that he had a sore throat, and being in the cold water is probably not a good idea. Matt agreed, and looked at me as if he was thinking...."Yeah, I'm 12 now, not 8." A few seconds later, a married couple from the town warned us about his mental capacity, but that he was harmless.

I'm not sure if it because I'm 43, that skydiving and paddling a tree into the water isn't so crazy! It seems to me that it would make me feel more alive. I don't like feeling grey, I want to feel colorful!