Playing Hookie

    Right now my little piece of the universe feels like it is on the sun.  We are having a heat wave.  I count myself as fortunate because I have an air-conditioner, but it is so hot out there.  We have been talking about pulling the kids out of school and going to the Sandbanks for years now, and yet we never seem to do it.  On the first official day of summer, and one of the hottest days I can remember, it hookie seemed like a really good idea. Yesterday, we played hookie, and it was the smartest thing that I have done in years!

    The Sandbanks are a provincial park that is about an hours drive from us, near Picton, Ontario.  It is a glorious spot.  Lake Ontario looks like the ocean at this little bit of paradise.  There are naturally occurring sand dunes that surround the lake.  It is a gift to our province really.  There were times that I had to remind myself that we were still in Ontario, and were not at the ocean.

    

    Christopher and I had been planning the trip for a week.  We kept it a secret from the kids.  When they woke up we told them that there would be no school today.  They were elated!  Secretly we packed up their bathing suits and towels (although not as secretly as I thought).  We then sunscreened all the kids, and loaded everyone and everything into the van.

    

    The whole ride the kids kept asking questions about where we were going.  I admit there was sick delight on my part in making them guess.  One of the kids had seen Christopher load the towels and suits so they deduced that we were going to be in water.  I loved listening to them talking it over with each other.  It was like a van full of mini Sherlock Homes's.  I stopped at the dollar store and bought some sand toys.  That then became a further clue.  When we drove up to the Sandbanks sign they all roared out a cheer.  For some reason we had never taken the kids there before, but they had heard us fondly reminisce about the times that we had been.  I realized that it had been more than ten years since we had been to the Sandbanks, way too long.

    It was an amazing day.  It was a day that will be fondly reminisced about for countless years to come.  It was good for the soul.  We just enjoyed each other.  We don't do that enough.  Our lives are so busy, and sometimes we forget about having fun.  We had a picnic lunch that for some reason tasted so much better than usual.  The kids took turns burying each other in the sand.  They built sand castles. They played in the water.  It was hot, but no one noticed, we were having too much fun.  I just kept looking at my family (nearly in tears, I have a problem with that), and the love I felt for them, was nearly overwhelming.  This was a moment.  This was a memory being made, and I knew it.

    The day cost very little, gas and park admission.  It was worth twenty times that amount.  The whole car ride home was filled with giggles.  They kept shouting out what their favourite part of the day was.  They all said how much they wanted to come back.  Christopher and I vowed that we needed to do things like that more often.  We needed to make time stop, just for a little while, and just enjoy life.