Yardstick parking at the beach…

Beautiful sunny morning at the beach. What a great day to enjoy a leisure stroll and soak up God’s creations! Sand, sunshine, sounds of waves jumping to reach the shore, children laughing, parents watching carefully, dogs running to catch sticks thrown in the water, and possibly a dolphin sighting.

All these glorious sights and sounds were enjoyed recently as we walked hand in hand on the local beach.

Of course, with the Henderson’s, there has to be more to the story. Upon arriving at the beach area, we looked for parking as usual. Early morning and already a parking place was hard to find.

While riding down the main street, a few parking places became available. Great location, not too far from the beach. This would work out perfectly.

Alan parked the car according to the rules of the road. There are signs positioned along the way alerting everyone to “Park 4 feet away from the main road.” Sometimes, there is  a white chalk line drawn to give further instruction about the 4 feet rule.

This day, after parking and believing we were following the rules by parking the correct distance from the road, we exited the car, put on our sun hats and prepared to walk.

Yes, a fantastic, fun, energizing excursion. Happiness filled our souls. Sweat and all.

Heading back to the car after our morning exercise, I noticed the “Beach Patrol” truck nearby. “Oh, no. Hope everything is okay. Looks like someone might be getting a ticket.”

Little did we realize the “someone” getting the ticket was us.

Evidently, our perception of 4 feet is not so good. A bright orange ticket on our vehicle alerted us to pay the $50.00 fine for not following the rules of parking 4 feet away from the road.

Embarrassing….. our lovely walk went from feelings of happiness to feelings of “Oh, my! How did we do that?”

From now on, we are thinking of carrying a yardstick to the beach, just to make sure we follow the rules. 🙂 We can measure the distance from the car to the road to make sure no more bright orange citations adorn our vehicle.

Have you ever accidentally broken a rule? How did you feel? I am thankful for God’s forgiveness and patience with me, as I am a work in progress.

Blessings, beach walking, sunshine and tons of giggles,
Mimi

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Sweating or “glistening”…

“It’s hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk.” “Don’t go outside unless necessary.” “Drink water, check on the elderly, check on your neighbors, take care of animals.”

These recent warnings are part of daily news reports here in coastal South Carolina. Last week, temperatures were close to 100 degrees with heat index of 117 and more. Air conditioners have been running non-stop. Neighborhoods have been quiet as more people are staying inside and not taking walks until early morning or late evening.

So, what do the Hendersons do? We decide to take a walk in the evening. Equipped with bottled water, sunscreen applied and wearing light colored clothing, we start walking through the neighborhood.

Our pace is slower than usual. A few shaded areas bring welcome relief. Conversation is mostly about the heat and the lack of people outside. One runner (must be a professional) does pass us and two ladies are walking slowly on the opposite side of the street. Small number of folks outside.

After a long walk, as we approach the street to our home, we look at each other with questioning thoughts. “Who had the bright idea of walking in this heat?” At least it wasn’t as hot as earlier in the day and at least we were prepared and followed healthy guidelines for being outside.

Just as I am thinking about how glad I am we are sticking to our walking plan, Alan looks at me and says, “Wow, honey, you are really sweating. It’s running all down your face and neck.” Way to make a girl feel good. No kidding I was sweating. He was sweating, too, but I didn’t mention how he looked.

My reply was “No, dear, I am not sweating. I am “glistening”. Southern ladies “glisten”. We don’t sweat.”

Laughter was with us all the way home. And, yes, I was truly sweating.

We couldn’t wait to get inside the house, cool down, drink more water and take cold showers.

Even in a hot, sweaty walk, laughter can be found.

Have you found an unusual circumstance to laugh? Share with us.

Blessings and giggles,
Mimi