Multitude Monday XIX: The Great Outdoors

There are times, in the life of a family, when both parties of Congress, the FDA, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Surgeon General all agree: everyone needs to get outside.

Times when you need to bid sayonara to the lure of the screen, the plug, the household maintenance chores, the nitty-gritty errands that will consume your Saturday if allowed.

Times to feel the wind on your face and the spray on your back.

Times to hang with the big girls.

Times to let go of the leash and see if your companion will follow.

Times to feast your eyes on the common wonders of the natural world.

And, of course, times to eat some Rudy's Barbecue with your fingers. 

Feeling thankful today for ...

#196. The sun, the wind, the lake, the rocky beach. 

197. Shell souvenirs still clanking around in the back of the van. 

198. A generous friend with a sailboat. 

199. This: Sometimes I regret the experiences I can't offer my kids right now. They're growing so fast, and they're not going to the theater (unless it's free and outdoors), taking music lessons, spending weeks at overnight camp, or running barefoot out of my grandmother's beach house. But if what they need to be happy, fulfilled people can be found during a day in the sunshine, hunting for shells and jumping in the waves with family and a cast of other adults who love them ... then they have what they need most. 

And, by the way ...

200. A husband who cheerfully watches Masterpiece dramas with me. We just finished both seasons of Cranford. If you love anything Jane Austen, this series,  based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novels (roughly contemporaneous to Ms. Austen's), are a must-see. Judi Dench. Imelda Staunton. What more can I say?