We spent an enjoyable weekend at the ocean. We arrived on Saturday and after unpacking, we went to visit my parents-in-law. We spent the day at their new house, playing outside when it wasn’t raining and enjoying the ocean front view when we were inside. The children liked looking at the “neat” things (Theresa’s words). In the evening, they treated us to a delicious dinner at Galway Bay. (Here, I need to diverge a little from my topic to describe the banquet room at the restaurant. In addition, to the Irish pictures, world maps, etc., there was a photo of Blessed Mother Teresa and another one of Pope John Paul II hanging on one of the walls. A picture of Pope John Paul II, with palms tucked behind the picture, hung above one of the doors. A small picture of Pope Benedict XVI hung above the same door. St. Brigid’s cross hung above the door to the entrance of the restaurant. It was nice to see a successful business that shared its faith.)

On Sunday, we woke early and went for a walk along the beach. Daddy and the children discovered, what Bernadette quickly named, Sand Dollar Island and the children’s imaginations went to work. After our morning stroll, we went to Mass. Following Mass, we ate breakfast with my parents-in-law and then returned to their house. Our two oldest spent the night at their grandparents and we did our best to get a good night’s rest back at the condo. Monday morning saw us back on the beach and then at my in-laws, where we said our thank yous and goodbyes.

As my husband drove home, I thought about each of my children and their visit to the beach. I thought about Patrick for whom everything was so new. He enjoyed splashing in the tide pools and touching the sand, but when he picked up some kelp, he immediately dropped it with an emphatic “Yuck!” I thought about his excitement over a dog that he saw and his constant, “Bye, doggy.” as we left the beach. I thought about Theresa who didn’t remember her last visit to the Pacific Ocean with its roaring waves. She delighted in finding “baby sand dollars” and enjoyed walking through the tide pools. She also took pleasure in singing to and with me, as we strolled along the beach. I thought about Brendan who had counted the days until it was time to go, making himself a fishing pole and telling us about the silver fish and the shark that he hoped to catch. He only knew one way to get to the beach, running. The only time he stopped running was to look at a snail that he or someone else noticed along the path and to pick up a bird’s wing. I thought about Bernadette who wanted to find a sand dollar, so that she could study it and was excited to find “millions” of sand dollars. She seemed so happy to be at the ocean once more and let her imagination come to life. I thought about Catherine, who like her sister, was happy to be at the ocean once more. I thought about my little girl who couldn’t help digging in the sand and inviting her brothers to do the same.

Thank you, God, for blessing us with a wonderful weekend!