a moment I'll remember

Today Arthur seemed to finally be feeling alot more ok about being in Florida. Less reserved, more affectionate, more silly. MORE SILLY! We went down to the ocean in the afternoon and played in the sand and water. A 5-year-old girl was there and she and Art had a fun time screaming and splashing, although Art would insist I or Nanna stay near. He was timid about waves. In any event, it was fun to see him fully enjoy the ocean in all it's saltiness and vastness. I got to body surf some, too, as Nanna watched the bug.

But the moment I'll remember is after Nanna left and Art and I sat on the beach together. He sat on my lap, and waves rolled over our pasty white legs as I piled sand on his feet. His feet slowly disappeared only to reappear from the rush of a wave. We sat there, mostly silently, for 40 minutes, playing with sand, pouring water over our toes, sitting on the beach. It was the sort of moment I had idealized in my mind when it comes to oceans and 3-year-olds, and it was quite wonderful.