Hunter Meets the Ocean

Hunter saw the ocean for the first time today. We had been talking about seeing the Atlantic ocean for days now, and when he finally got to see it he was very excited.

The ocean beach was very different from the Lake Michigan beach that he's used to. The waves were much bigger and stronger, and the sand was covered in seaweed and a hundreds of tiny seashells, rather than just the smooth rocks that wash up at the Indiana dunes.

He mostly played in the sand in the beginning, and eventually worked up the curiosity to venture out to the water. However, once he got out there he became aware of the loud, crashing waves and decided to head back to the safer, quieter shores. I can hardly blame him - the waves were strong enough to send me doing flips underwater, so I'm sure they must be pretty intimidating to a two-year-old.

But we eventually went out together. He was scared, but I held him, reassured him. I'm a big supporter of, um, pushing your kids limits. That is, gently encouraging them, supporting them, avoiding coddling them. Not to push them to the point of tears or anything. But it did end up paying off, because he overcame his initial fear and, once he found out that there was really nothing to be afraid of, had a wonderfully good time.

"He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength... Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea."

Job 9:4,8

 Hunter is 2 years, 7 months old