Beach Cleanup

happybrew · 10-11-2003, 09:56 PM

My son was at Pacific City today with his church youth group, along with a bunch of other people all along the Oregon Coast for the beach cleanup. My wife... I love her dearly, but.... she sent him off in shorts, and no rain gear. Luckily, the youth group leaders were prepared for kids being underprepared, but still. We've got a whole box full of rain coats, rain pants, ponchos, and rubber boots in all sizes. And HE should have known better, as much as I bundle him up when we go fishing in the winter. But heck, he's only 11 and not responsible. Apparently they were fine until the end of the day, when the sky just opened up on them. That'll teach him not to forget the rain coat. Sometimes I just wish I didn't have to work so I could take care of things like this, that my wife, who doesn't really spend any time in the great outdoors, doesn't think of. I left home yesterday at 6 AM. While I was at work, I thought... He's gotta bring rain gear. I didn't get home until after 7 PM, as my boss is on vacation, one employee had to go in for surgery, and another was out with pneumonia, and the customers won't wait, and my other boss had me run some stupid errand that he forgot to do. As soon as I got home my wife started yakking, which doesn't give me any opportunity to think, let alone speak, which didn't let up until I finally said "It's late, I gotta get in bed" at midnight. At 5 AM I got up to start the whole thing again, and in the middle of all of those customers who wanted something NOW while I was short too many employees, I thought to myself "I really hope he brought rain gear with him. Dang it! He's 11, probably spaced it off, and my wife isn't going to think of it." So I get home just before 6 so my wife can leave for work, with a bunch of work to do at home, and I didn't think to ask her as she was heading out the door if he took rain gear with him. Finally, at 8:45 he calls for me to pick him up at the church. Since my wife isn't home to be yakking in my ear continuously, I am able to keep an uninterrupted coherent thought in my head, and I ask him "Did you bring a rain coat?????" "No. But I'm dry now." Just lovely. So I load the other four kids in the van, and go pick him up. He's wearing shorts and a sweater. GRRRR. Of course, they had a fire going on the beach, and a tent to get out of the rain, and vehicles to warm up in, and they weren't really out in the boonies, but still. Am I worrying too much? He had fun, he came back okay, but he got a little cold. What if it were colder? What if they were in a more remote area? What if, what if, what if.... And all because I didn't make sure he had a rain coat. Do I worry too much? He's my baby, and it's the first time he's done anything without a family member present, and I wasn't there to see him off. Perhaps I'm a control freak. Who knows. But he should have had a darn rain coat, even if he did have a lot of fun.

By the way, he said they found an old rusty axe, unopened bottles of beer :shocked: , a dead deer that he said smelled really, really bad [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img] , and they got to roll down the really big sand dune near Haystack Rock, and it made him feel like he was in a washing machine! :grin:

happybrew

STGRule · 10-11-2003, 10:19 PM

You obviously had a bad day and it unfortunately spilled over into your real life. An 11-year-old is not made of sugar. While he might have been a little uncomfortable that is NOT what he will remember about this day. Only you will. He didn't care; he was on an adventure. The worst part about having a bad day is how you perceived what your wife was saying to you. She was not "yakking" at you. She was sharing her day and you weren't in a position to listen or appreciate it. That's the problem with having a bad day. Your world closes in to only include you and nobody else. You get defensive and pouty. That's not a bad thing as long as you have warned those around you that you are not at your best right then. When you get some sleep and have left the less important part of your life at work where it belongs I bet your son will tell you how he had an awesome time and your wife will tell you all the cool things that happened today with your family and you'll smile instead of grumping.

happybrew · 10-11-2003, 11:30 PM

Actually, I didn't have a bad day, I had a busy day. Reading my post again, it looks worse than it was. I was yakking back, and we actually had a very good conversation, but but she's tied up with a bunch of little ones all day and REALLY misses adult conversation, so when I get home, it all gets released at once. But I do need a moment when I come in the door to get things done, which I didn't have yesterday. I just never had an opportunity to collect my thoughts. I know he'll look back on it and remember it as a good time. But he's my baby, and I worry. Heck, when he was born he scared the pants off of us because he wouldn't eat for the first two days. So we worry. My wife e-mailed me at work today, which I had a chance to check when I pulled the till to count it after the cashier left, and she was worried too. And yes, he did have an awesome time. They all made nicknames for each other, and his nickname was "midget." They had hamburgers and hotdogs and smores. And he was the male leader's "Jedi Knight", although I still have to hear the whole story on that one. And the female leader said he was an awesome babysitter for their baby. He loves babies. So if they had a baby with them, there's no way they would be in a situation where he'd be in any danger. But dang it, I should have made sure he had a rain coat! DOH!

Come on, STGRule, didn't you worry about your little ones when they ventured outside the nest, and kick yourself when you forgot a detail? I was kicking myself all evening because I didn't make sure he had a rain coat. If only this, if only that, and I would have done it... come on, you know the thinking about woulda coulda shoulda's.

If only I'da done this, if only he'da done that, if only my wife would've done the other thing. But the main thing is, he ventured outside the nest for the first time (not counting grandparents) and came back okay, and they cleaned up a beach.

What I'm really wondering is how a dead deer ends up on the beach. Did it die there, or get washed up? And if he found unopened beers on the beach, howcome he didn't bring one to me???? :tongue:

happybrew

24 on/ 48 off · 10-12-2003, 09:00 PM

The Coast Guard station a Tillamook bay got a call in 1994 of a horse in the water.

25 MILES off Neakhanie Mountain!

Nobody had any idea how it got there. A fishing boat had found it. Unfortunately, the equine perished before the coast guard MLB could get there.

Now THAT would have made a big stink if it washed up on shore.

--spud-- :smile:

happybrew · 10-13-2003, 03:30 PM

Last year or the year before an elk was found swimming in the ocean, posted here on iFish. Perhaps the deer was trying to imitate its hero.

happybrew

Miss B Haven · 10-13-2003, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by happybrew:
Last year or the year before an elk was found swimming in the ocean, posted here on iFish. Perhaps the deer was trying to imitate its hero.
happybrew

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">I have it on good authority that Elk was a fake, or was it a "FIB"? :grin:

10-13-2003, 04:47 PM

The elk was a fake just like all of those tuner you caught this year :grin: