the beach, the beauty & the beast

ahhhh .... sitting just yards from the beach. Listening to the breaking waves. Admiring the bold blue water that sparkles in today's bright sunlight. It's colors are intensified by the deep green grass that competes in it's growth against the sand. The sky is void of the gray clouds that have hovered for the past few days, leaving only wisps of white that look as if they were put there by a paint brush. We sip our cool, lemon infused water, as a soft breeze floats by just in time to keep the humidity from settling on our skin. Muted, Hawaiian music plays in the backround, adding to our serene ambiance. The palm fronds high above us are waving, as if to becon in another wave & I notice a petite gray dove tapping about the flagstone floor- looking for a sesame seed or perhaps a french fry that has leapt from a plate as it was carted off by someone wearing an Aloha shirt. He dodges a leaf that has fallen from a nearby plumeria tree ... bringing with it, the faint scent of the flower. ahhhh ..... I repeat silently. ahhhh .... the beach sights, & sounds, & scents ..... ahhh. The beauty that surrounds us. From the vibrant colored ginger, to the striped umbrellas at the water's edge. ahhh.
and then.............. The Beast.

"Olivia, stay where mommy can see you, we're sitting right here" ..... "Olivia, did you hear me, that's far enough. Olivia" (in raised voice of course) And, as if it needed harmony, another voice rings out, slightly louder yet, "Olivia, did you hear your mother?" Apparently she didn't because it didn't change the direction or speed in which she took flight. But then .... it didn't affect her mother much either. She didn't get up. She went back to her magazine & iced tea. "Olivia, be careful. Olivia, don't bother those people. Olivia, come sit down & eat" And yet - Olivia (the beast) continued climbing up & hopping off the lava rocks in the flower bed in front of us. Olivia kept tormenting the rooster in the bushes. Olivia's mother received & began to eat her lunch (comfortably) while Olivia annoyed those of us that were "ahhhh'ing" just a little while ago....... before her arrival.

MIND YOU- I am aware that it is not actually Olivia that is the beast here- but rather her mother. It's a shame that she has not set boundries, or disciplined with any consistancy. But ..... it is just minutes of our day and easily pushed aside as we leave.... & hearing "Olivia" bellowed for (hopefully), the last time!