Charlie Speaks, We’re Happy to Listen
“Swim ocean.” Said Charlie very intently after breakfast.
Saturday was like this here at the beach. Today—-and ever since Sunday morning—it has been rain, gray sky, cool, windy: Stormy weather. Not exactly beach weather, if your thing is sitting on the sand and working on your tan, building sandcastles and tapping a foot in the wave.
Charlie does none of those things: He wanted a swim, and two he got. Jim saw that the rain seemed to be letting up just a bit in the morning and he and Charlie ran out. The sand was damp and clayey; there were two people and three surfers in the water, and that was all, until Charlie ran in and was rapidly swooshed out and under by the waves, his dark head resurfacing with several grins and then a cry. Jim suspected that a wave must have wumped him onto the sand and we wrapped him in a towel and he had a very long hot shower.
The rain continued throughout the day (and is the forecast is for it to last through to Wednesday, and clouds on and off for the rest of the week). After lunch and saying good-bye to one of our houseguests (Charlie tried to take off his shoes and have him lie down on the couch with a blanket over him), Charlie said, “Ocean.”
I had learned from the across-the-street neighbors that the lifeguards were on the beach so out we went. We were told that we could only go in up to our knees which Charlie somewhat interpreted as meaning his whole body could be stretched out prone so as to go under a wave. The waves were not simply rough, they roiled and gray foam swirled around the three of us and sand and spray flew everywhere. The water was not cold, and the splash from the waves was over our heads.
The rain did not stop and, with Charlie calling out “ferris wheel” at intervals, we drove down towards Wildwood where the boardwalk is spectacular, when the sun is out. Tonight the boardwalk was dark, with only some pizza restaurants and arcades open. Charlie called for “ferris wheel” before sitting down for dinner and then at closer and closer intervals as we drove through Wildwood, briefly hopeful when the rain drizzled. Then it poured down again and Jim and cousin Bob who is still visiting and I said “how about tomorrow—everything is closed—the ferris wheel is closed.” “Ferris wheel, ferriswheel, ferriswheel!” I was sitting next to Charlie in the back seat and alternated saying “hopefully the rain will stop tomorrow” and “it’s too wet” with “ferris wheel,” which two words seemed to assure Charlie that he would get his ride. Mindful of previous moments of disappointment at rides being closed, I sat, ready, and looked at the signs flashing by on the Parkway.
Charlie, saying “ferris wheel” all the way, hopped with a smile out of the car when we got back to the beach house and helped himself to some watermelon. We did an online jigsaw puzzle of a dog and he went to sleep with the CD player on.
Needless to say, it doesn’t matter how much it rains (even on vacation): Charlie shows me where the light is.
2 opinions for Charlie Speaks, We’re Happy to Listen
VAB
Aug 21, 2007 at 2:56 am
Hey, sounds like someone is growing up and regulating his emotions. We had a lot of work to do on dealing with disappointments. It’s a hard one, and it seems Charlie is mastering it. Good for him.
mcewen
Aug 21, 2007 at 9:08 am
Now that is one sparkly photo. I can remember swimming in the sea when it was raining several decades ago, but of course that was another continent.
Best wishes
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