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Snippets of Light

May 15th, 2009 Yesterday, the girls and I walked to the beach. We’ve discovered the most wonderful “secret” passageways leading down to Sunset Cliffs and are spending our time exploring them. There are rusty, rickety metal stairways, cement blocks crumbling into the sea, huge boulders piling the beach, “Do Not Enter” and “Beware” signs, and labyrinth evil count villas perched on hillsides, which naturally, we avoid at all costs.

Lucky for us, these mysterious lanes to the sea are just two blocks from our home and it’s been loads of fun scrambling down rocks and dirt, avoiding the surging tide, and tinkering in shallow pools to frolic with sea anemones. This most rugged stretch of beach is my heartsong and depending on the light, the ocean looks like diamonds or coal. If you’re a children’s writer, noodling on your next fantastical plot point, as I am, this seascape is the best thing in the whole wide world for imagination generation.

Anyway, as I was saying, Toots (the evil count creator) and Booger (the “Beware”-sign ignorer) were making our way to the sea lanes, when we happened upon a big red firetruck full of beefy and handsome fireguys, which the girls being girls, waved to enthusiastically. The firemen, all of who popped their heads out a window to wave back, smiled paternally at the two little girls so obviously besmirched with the truck and the attention.

‘Twas a beautiful thing, too. The girls full of rapt adoration and awe for the firetruck and men saving lives, and the beefcakes all tender and gooshy because the girls reminded them of their own daughters at home.

Then Booger, normally the shy one, lifted her dress and flashed Barbie Snow Princess underwear to the entire gaggle of firemen.

We made it through the stunned silence and confusion and hands not waving anymore, and ended up having a perfectly delicious adventure tossing pebbles into frothed waves hiding all manner of mermaids and salt water unicorns.

The moral: Sometimes you just gotta move on. There may be rust and crumbling, and there you are on a road, when an unexpected flash is given or gotten, but a unicorn is usually right around the corner.

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On May 15th, 2009, Cheri @ Blog This Mom! said:

Can I borrow Booger’s panties?

At the risk of not sounding like my typical wiseassness, this is a very moving post. It brought a tear to my and a warm fuzzy feeling to my heart.

On May 15th, 2009, Crystal said:

can i come stay at your house for awhile? only 2 blocks from the beach??? I’m jealous!!

On May 15th, 2009, robyn said:

So sweet, and then the last paragraph made me gasp out loud. Kids can be so unpredictable! Glad you were so cool about the whole thing. :)

On May 15th, 2009, Debrah said:

Showing off your panties is better than my 5 year old telling a woman at her brother’s baseball game that her mom makes her eat poop for dinner…

On May 15th, 2009, Danielle said:

That is GREAT. I love her for doing that. It wouldn’t suprise me if mine did that. I got many a strange look when she was in the ‘I want to be naked all the time’ phase and we sat at a restaurant with her shirt over her head but her arms still in it. So she was bare chested. Yeah it was great.

On May 15th, 2009, Blognut said:

I like that kid. I really do.

For the record, there was a time when I totally would’ve shown my panties to the firemen, too. :)

On May 15th, 2009, stoneskin said:

Fabulous. But you didn’t right?


I’m sorry…is it wrong to show firemen our panties? I did…sort of…through my holy sweatpants…you can read about it here http://butterfly80.blogspot.com/2009/01/er.html

On May 15th, 2009, PAPA said:

What a great way to head into the weekend.

And, yes, you’re totally right. You have to press on.

I love the Sunset Cliffs. Reminds of a place in Rhode Island called the Breakers or something like that. Been so long!

On May 15th, 2009, foradifferentkindofgirl (fadkog) said:

Oh, my…you and this? Equally awesome! I loved this tale!

(perhaps one day you might be inspired to write a children’d story about that gorgeous ocean for if you do, it would allow me to pull your book from the shelves of the children’s department and hand it to the parents and grandparents who come wishing to buy books for their lovely young ones who are interested in the ocean and yet I find it hard to quench their desire)

On May 15th, 2009, Jamie said:

Gorgeous imagery. Well, except for the, you know… ‘Cause clearly that’s just (giggle, giggle) wrong.

And the moral? Thanks Deb. I needed that today. Truly.

On May 15th, 2009, Mama Mary said:

Just had to go and ruin a perfectly wonderful story by mentioning a unicorn, didn’t ya? :-)

On May 15th, 2009, Jessica Mommynightowl said:

lol too funny, and she is normally shy huh?

BTW I gave your lovely blog an award, here

On May 16th, 2009, Kizz said:

Love that she did that. Just love her.

On May 16th, 2009, Jennifer H said:

Sure, say it was your daughter…we know the truth. ;-)

(So funny!)

Your photo makes me want to move near the beach right now. And I LOVE secret passageways.

On May 17th, 2009, kate said:

they will remember her better for the flashing. she’s memorable like her mama. not that you have to flash your panties to do it.

this really was a lovely post, and you sound inspried, which, i’m sure, will make it into your book.

On May 17th, 2009, Jenn @ Juggling Life said:

She could have shown your panties to the firefighters–that would have been really embarrassing.

Your adventures sound wonderful.

On May 18th, 2009, Green Girl in Wisconsin said:

That is hilarious! Nothing like a flash of undies to kill the party, eh?

On May 18th, 2009, Bridget Smith said:

So true about the “just moving on part”. My Destiny is a bit of a flirt as well, my little guy has tends to run outside naked at every opportunity, so I totally think that your story may be my future :).

On May 19th, 2009, Da Goddess said:

This reminds me very much of the summer I spent at Sunset Cliffs in a house just about a block from there. Krista and I found our own little “safe” path down to the 3×3 foot patch of sand, and occasionally we would wander out over the painful rocks to where sand once again was under foot and let the waves lap at our legs.

Your girls are very lucky to have a mom like you. I dare say you are much like my own mom has always been and Toots and Booger, while not exactly me and my little sister — be thanking your lucky stars here, will hopefully grow up to be awesome people.

P.S. I really want you to meet my mom because I think you will recognize something in her. It just dawned on me that it’s there…it really is.

On May 19th, 2009, Trish said:

Beautiful imagery! Especially (for me) beefcakes all tender and gooshy… Well I guess she’s “not shy anymore” huh, mommy? :-).

