A break in the day

Tuesdays have become a pretty hectic day around here. In the afternoon, I have to pick up the kids from school, get back home so Jayne's mom can get the girls dinner, take Elspeth to dance then, yesterday, take her right to Girl Scouts. That's a stretch from about 2:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Yesterday was a nice day -- the last for a while -- so Alyssa wanted to come along to enjoy the playground while Elspeth danced then went to Scouts. Alyssa had a blast on the playground in Saugatuck, then we dropped Elspeth off at Scouts. By then, it was getting dark so the playground was no longer an option.

After grabbing a snack at DeMond's grocery store (who doesn't love Cheetos and chocolate milk?), I drove Alyssa up to Oval Beach.

Lake Michigan was calm -- hardly a wave -- and the beach was wide open with not a tourist to be found. There was no wind and the air temperature was in the mid-50s. Perfect for a walk on the sand. The best part was, as we tossed rocks into the water and Alyssa chased some gulls, was that a freighter was coming into the channel up in Holland.

Holland is several miles up the coast, but we could see the lights of the big lake freighter as it lined itself up with the channel. For a time, it was framed between the red and green blinking lights of Saugatuck's channel (Frighters don't come into to Sauagtuck -- it's really a recreational harbor now). Both Alyssa and I were focused on the ship as we watched it slowly glide out of sight into Holland Harbor.

This whole walk on the beach really calmed me down. You see, as I continue to be belittled and marginalized at my place of employment, and my self worth there is chopped away with each day, I was reminded yesterday as I stood in the sand along Lake Michigan what a true strength I have in my family. I hope that Alyssa will have a memory of this walk on the beach, maybe even just a feeling, really, she can think back on when she's older and I'm dead, and maybe she'll feel good.

It's already helped me.

Thought: Be here now.