Gloria in Excelsis Deo: Hilton Head Day 2

On Saturday, we decided to rush the morning and get down to the beach closer to 8:30 than 10:00. The beach is more family friendly the earlier in the morning one visits!

Arriving at the beach was a period of stress . . . and now we have our first jellyfish sting! Thomas was struggling badly with what we suspect is hypoglycemia, so I was sitting in the parking lot with Thomas and David, patiently waiting for Thomas to calm down and then to eat, which would solve the problem. By the time that lengthy situation was finally resolved, I walked David and Thomas down to the beach. David (3) scampered ahead of me and raced way faster than Mama can run . . . straight into the ocean water! This Mama is truly phobic of water, so I was shouting like an angry mama bear trying to catch up with him. Meanwhile, as soon as I hit the sand, I could hear Joseph (8) screaming, "Help! Help! Help!" from out in the ocean waves. It didn't matter that the ocean was roaring and wind deafening, I could hear my "baby" screaming for help. So in what was surely just a few seconds but felt much longer, I grabbed David by the scruff, hauled him up the sand, and assigned him to a sister. I assigned Thomas to the other sister. I shouted, "DON'T LET THEM ANYWHERE NEAR THE WATER." All while I was running down the beach to Joseph, who was now accompanied by a life guard. It turns out he had been stung by a jellyfish and would be okay, but he was in a lot of pain for a while and Mama was newly on edge.

At least watching Thomas fly a kite on the beach was like a dream come true, a dream I didn't even know I had.

Thomas flying a kite

David

Margaret and David

We came back to the condo for lunch and nap times. Again, Thomas was struggling with what is probably hypoglycemia and each time this might mean that I am tied up with him for an hour trying to get him stable and calm again. This entire year I've been learning more and more to just live in this moment. Just do what I am doing. It may not be my grand plan, it may not be efficient, it may make us late or make us miss something entirely, but this is my duty newly presented by God in this one moment . . . and now I'm just doing it.

Thankfully, food and a nap helped such that our family was able to attend a scheduled trail ride in the afternoon.

Petting zoo

Mama, John, Mary, and Margaret did the trail ride through "the Lowcountry in its natural setting, meandering through trails, forests and lakes in over 600 lush acres of the Sea Pines Forest Preserve."

Ready to ride!

I was rather nervous riding Silverado, but I held my own, my horse didn't spook, no alligators snapped me up, and I didn't fall off. Pretty good for an out-of-shape old gal! I have such respect for Queen Elizabeth still riding horses at 94 years old!