House on the Beach

Today, I woke up relatively early and drove up to Wingaersheek beach to enjoy a couple of hours reading at the ocean. When I got there at 11am, there were only about 10 other cars in the lot, and very few people on the beach. I decided to put my stuff down and go for a walk.

I hadn't gotten very far when I was accosted by an adorable little girl, probably about 6 years old. She asked if I "wanted a tour of their house" and gestured toward a group of rocks spanning about 50 square yards that the beach is known for. I noticed her mother there, caught her eye for approval, then said, "Sure."

She walked me over to the rocks, and her little brother (probably about 4) joined in. Together they walked me around: "this is our master bedroom...this is our guest room...this is where we pee...(you have to poop in another place). This is our fish pond (we don't have any fish yet; we still need to catch them). This is our whirlpool..oh! and here's our pool. This is the grand ballroom. It's where our mommy and daddy got married."

brother: "Show her the jacuzzi!"
sister: "we don't have a jacuzzi. (pause) Oh, wait! Yes we do. (points at rock) Here's our jacuzzi. It's new!"

The tour went on for about 10 minutes. I asked about future additions, then got the tour of "Grandma's house," which was the group of rocks next to the main one through which I had been touring. Poor Grandma; the place to poop was actually a hole in the ground dug right in the middle of her guest ballroom. Luckily, as the little boy pointed out, "We haven't used it yet. We still have to go up to her real house over there." (Points to Grandma's real house. Grandma is one lucky lady, let me tell you). By the end, the little girl was grabbing my hand and saying, "Come HERE!" It was so cute that I am smiling still as I write this.

I think the tour would have gone on for about an hour or so if I hadn't finally stopped and thanked the little girl for her time before she put too many new additions on her rockhome. Her mother in turn thanked me profusely for accepting the tour, and I said I had enjoyed it. It was great to see the brother and sister creating a house of rocks. (So can they throw glass in it? Sorry, bad joke.) It was a wonderful break from reality (i.e. writing my thesis) to be reminded of how incredible children's imaginations can be.