Ever since we got engaged, I have been going on the Duffy annual trip to Hilton Head Island. I love the lush green plants, gigantic sprawling oaks, tall pines, Spanish moss and marshy landscape that remind me of South Louisiana. And I love that wherever you are in the island, you can just hop on your beach cruiser bike and be at the beach in minutes. I don't know how we will afford it, but I am determined to retire there and run an old lady yoga / dance studio.
These days, like everything else, the beach is a little different. This year, we got to experience the beach through the eyes of a one-year old. A one year old who takes a few, silent minutes to observe the world around her and then takes off, ready to explore. While she enjoyed digging in the sand and wading in the water, it was her ultimate mission to put all of the sand on the beach back in the water, two tiny handfuls at a time.
I will confess that I have been worried lately about the quality of our language modeling for Fi. Have I varied my words? Is she hearing enough words? Are we extending on her communication attempts enough? Why didn't I map that particular action to words?
I found myself having these same thoughts while she was working away. How many ways can I describe the sand? What new vocabulary words can I introduce? But at some point, I stopped talking and just watched. And though I had a few terrifying visions of the tide sweeping her away, it was heaven to watch Fi at her work.
It got me thinking...why is it that mindfulness and being in the present moment is so hard? Little ones are so good at being in the moment and true to themselves. When do we stop that? When do we start caring so much about our productivity that we forget how good it feels to experience the actual work? When do we start caring more about how we look in our swim suits than how it feels to stand next to the ocean?
Oh goodness...so much to learn and unlearn.
Here are some of my favorite beach pictures of our little Buddha baby.
These days, like everything else, the beach is a little different. This year, we got to experience the beach through the eyes of a one-year old. A one year old who takes a few, silent minutes to observe the world around her and then takes off, ready to explore. While she enjoyed digging in the sand and wading in the water, it was her ultimate mission to put all of the sand on the beach back in the water, two tiny handfuls at a time.
I will confess that I have been worried lately about the quality of our language modeling for Fi. Have I varied my words? Is she hearing enough words? Are we extending on her communication attempts enough? Why didn't I map that particular action to words?
I found myself having these same thoughts while she was working away. How many ways can I describe the sand? What new vocabulary words can I introduce? But at some point, I stopped talking and just watched. And though I had a few terrifying visions of the tide sweeping her away, it was heaven to watch Fi at her work.
It got me thinking...why is it that mindfulness and being in the present moment is so hard? Little ones are so good at being in the moment and true to themselves. When do we stop that? When do we start caring so much about our productivity that we forget how good it feels to experience the actual work? When do we start caring more about how we look in our swim suits than how it feels to stand next to the ocean?
Oh goodness...so much to learn and unlearn.
Here are some of my favorite beach pictures of our little Buddha baby.
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| Seeing the ocean for the first time |
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| Someone did not love the bike trailer |
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| Building with daddy |
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