To the beach

“Wanna go to the beach?”

Those five words that would have Molson knocking over furniture to get to the door left Muddy looking at me confused. I’m slowly learning that so much I took for granted with Mister Molson is still yet to be learned by Muddy.

Muddy pushes his eyebrows together and tilts his head. He watches as we load bags into the truck, grab blankets and pillows for inside, and pack a bag of people food. The kids are a buzz with excitement.

Everyone jumps in the truck and we start out on the road. Watching out the window Muddy watches for people, animals, and anything new (which is almost everything). But this car ride is different. It’s longer than the normal trip to “wanna go to work”. Muddy decides to settle in and lay on his bed between the kids in the back seat.

He wakes up and wonders why we’re still driving. Did he miss the work and sleep right through to “ready to go home?”

Muddy made his first trip to the beach for Thanksgiving 2017. He did amazing on the 8 hour car ride. No potty accidents, no fussing, no restlessness. He held in natures call until the pit stops like me and the kids.  He just settled in and took naps between the periods of looking out the window.

When we arrived he quickly made friends with the giant fuzzy dog named Gunner.

The place quickly became a wrestling arena with both dogs playing nicely but vigorously.

The next big adventure was a trip to the beach. The water tried endlessly to take bites out of the land as the wind peppered us with gusts of cool air and sand. The wind was strong and the earth was kind of soft and mushy.

Going to the beach with Muddy helped me look at it as if it was my first time. I thought about what he must be thinking as he took in the sand, wind, water, and salty air for the first time. It made me pause and focus on each of my senses as I imagined what he might be thinking.

The kids took turns walking him. Elliot tried to get him in the water but he was not interested in the least.

After the beach we walked the boardwalk, and headed over to The Stock-Aide General Store, where mom works. When we arrived we saw a rack displaying Mister Molson Project t-shirts.

We can always count on mom (grandma to the kids) to help anyway she can. Mister Muddy even got to be an honorary cashier like Molson did on his last visit.

Muddy’s first trip to the beach introduced him to new family members, the big water, dogs of all sizes, and sand.  Each trip to the beach will probably remind me of Mister Molson since he absolutely loved the ocean, the sound, the beach, campfires, and grandmas cooking.  But, Mister Muddy helped me look forward and experience the place in a new way.  I look forward to many more trips with this new guy.  Hopefully, for Grandpa’s sake, he’s house broken by then.  Grandpa discovered a nice warm muddy present in the hallway with his bare foot one night.  It was a quite impressive work of inappropriately placed art.  His handsome face got him quickly forgiven and we were invited back.

We always enjoy our trips to the Outer Banks and seem to pick up right where we left off with the family.  I happy that Muddy now gets to be a part of it all.  The loss of Molson, the rescue of Muddy, Thanksgiving, and family have all reminded me to count my blessings, cherish each day, and pause to appreciate the every day things we so easily take for granted.  Nothing is Promised.  Nothing is Guaranteed.  Everyday is a gift.

The Griffin’s all sporting their Mister Molson Project T-Shirts.