With temperatures expected to peak well into the triple digits over the next few days, I decided to take the kids to the beach one last time before we hibernate in our air conditioning. Baby E likes the beach. And he hates it. And then he likes it again, but only until he hates it.

He had gotten pretty fussy for awhile, so I found a spot on the beach close enough to the water to keep an eye on Big E as he splashed around, but far enough away to stay dry, and I sat down with Baby E on my lap. I showed him some rocks and some shells and he turned them over in his hands, practicing these new words. That’s when I felt it, a sharp sting right below my neck. My mind was still processing what was happening when Baby E jumped and let out a yelp. Immediately he started screaming and holding his head. It took me a beat to figure out what was happening as I looked up and glanced around just as another rock flew past us. There was a kid, probably about 8 years old, in the water about 15 feet in front of us, hurling rocks at the beach, and consequently us!! And while his mother stood right there doing nothing, I confess that I yelled at him before he could release his next arsenal. Baby E sat there in my arms crying and crying, as I’m trying to explain to this child over his screams that he needed to stop NOW. And the mom just stood there!! No apologies. No telling her kid to stop. She just stood there. Ugh. The kid got the message though and dropped the remaining rocks in his hand and wandered off to play somewhere else. Baby E cried for awhile, and considering how much it hurt when the rock hit me, I am sure it was much worse to receive that blow to the head.

We left when the beach closed, got home, got showers, and had dinner after the sun had gone down. Getting the kids down was pretty easy, and as Baby E laid in his crib I leaned over, rubbed his hair and said, “I love you.” To my surprise, he said it back!

“I love you!” That was the first time he has ever said that to me and my heart is overflowing. In that moment, I was reminded that it has all been worth it- the long nights, all the sicknesses, the fatigue, and all the ups and downs from the past year and a half, because that little boy up there loves me… and there’s nothing better than that!