May Wonder Never Cease

He waits as long as he dares, then a bit longer. A bit longer. Too long! He spins, churning the sand as he races the fringe of another wave up the beach, squealing with delight as the cold, frothy water catches one foot, another, then the sweatpants at his ankles until its energy is spent. With another race won, or lost, it doesn’t matter, he turns to watch the water recede, listening as it burbles its way back to sea, then follows it, eager to wait as long as he dares once again.

He is Ben Travis, almost four years old, and I am his father, squatting to capture the moment on film. It is 1993:

He is Ollie Travis, exactly four years old, and I am his grandfather, stooping to capture the moment on my cell phone. It is 2024:

To be specific, it is Monday, May 13, 2024 — Ollie’s fourth birthday. Ben has invited me to spend the day with the two of them, doing the very same things in the very same places along New Hampshire’s seacoast that he loved as a child.

What a gift, joining as the magic unfolds again, thirty-one years later.

We slide and slip over rounded rocks, slick with seaweed, until we reach the tidal pools, where we find snails by the dozens, tiny translucent shrimp, and even a crab or two.

At lunch Ollie blows bubbles in his lemonade through his straw, even though Ben asks him not to, and I think to myself, funny, young Ben didn't listen to me when it came to blowing lemonade bubbles either.

We finish our day at the beach as the tide comes in, where Ollie dares the water to catch his feet as Ben splashes beside him. I let the water catch my feet too.

~

Where was Annabelle during our adventure? At home, happily eating leftover birthday party pizza.