River Wading

We loaded up the kids, the dog, life jackets, sunscreen, chairs, and towels and headed to the river this morning. We've been really unlucky the last two times we've tried to go. The first time we encountered the largest family reunion ever organized and the second time the dam had been let out and the river was too swollen to attempt. So we weren't even sure we were going to get to use all the stuff we had loaded into the van.

But when we got there, there was only a couple enjoying a nice late breakfast at the picnic table beside the water. They immediately started disassembling their table once they got a look at us coming. We propped our chairs up, jacketed the two little ones and didn't even bother with the sunscreen. It was a perfectly overcast non-humid morning. It was equivalent to striking gold on an August day in the South...nearly unheard of. I'm so glad we didn't miss it!

The only dogs we've had since we've been married have been retrievers, and we just assumed all dogs loved the water. Walter informed us that he's no retriever. He would go in the water if led, but when left to his druthers, he laid in the mud on shore. Maybe he's part pig. I do think, however, that he took delight in shaking water all over the kids.

Holt's main delight was in collecting things. He is, above all, a collector. We've started calling him Oscar because he is recycling all of our cleaned out trash into a "collection". Imagine his surprise when he discovered the little "rocks" he'd gathered into a pile had living things inside. He and his daddy put all the creatures back in the river. He also hit paydirt with a goose feather that he brought back to camp. All I could think about was the germs, but I've made a conscious effort since he's been born to allow him to be a boy. Actually, I've had a lot of help with that from Birch.

Then they discovered worms. Holt appropriately named his Slimy, a fine name for a worm. Carolina, not to be outdone, found her own worm, Sarah. I'm going to propose that at no other time in the history of man has there been a worm named Sarah. I'd bet money.


Then Carolina began to cry and announced that she'd "broken" Sarah. We thought that marked an opportune time to gather our stuff and leave. You really can't recover after a grief that big when you're three. Holt had his own tearful farewell as he placed Slimy back into his watery home. There was much sniffling from both the middle and the back of the van on the way home.

When we got back and Walter found out that a trip to the river meant a bath with the hose, he let us know that next time he'd really just rather stay at home and watch the travel channel.