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194 | 365 Changing Conditions

On Sunday, conditions at the beach were gentle. It was low tide, with a light swell and small waves. There was plenty of room to make sand castles and bury kids in holes.
 
The next day it was high tide with a sizeable swell and the waves were crashing hard and sliding all the way up the beach to the sand dunes. There was no room to play or anywhere to relax.
 
I pondered how life can be like this. One day its gentle, plenty of room to play and relax, then suddenly, overnight it can change and things feel like that are crashing down around us, with no room for movement.
 
What surprises me the most, is when I have calm periods I forget that they don’t last forever, or when I have heavy crashing periods I forget calmer times will come.
 
Yesterdays conditions, like the surf , may be a completely different from today.
 
[194 | 365 – Changing Conditions – The family wade in the water as surfies watch the impact of the large swell and high tide]

193|365 Chest Deep

Take some spades; dig a really deep hole in the sand, then stand two 5 year boys up in the hole and have the granddads’ fill it up with sand.
 
Now, tell the boys to dig their way out. J

[193 | 365 – ‘Chest Deep’ – Jayden is buried, standing, chest deep in sand and starting to try and dig himself out]

192 | 365 Waikino Kilns

Two mammoth reminders from our visit to the mining battery ruins of at Waikino with the kids.
 
#1 ‘At school I don’t like history and feel like falling asleep’. Our kids really got a kick out of the personalised guided tour by a couple of retired volunteers. They enjoyed seeing and touching and experiencing. The learning that comes from seeing can be immeasurable compared to reading a book or watching a DVD.
 
#2 100 years ago, at the height of the mining, they were felling 1 hectare of native forest a day all so they could refine more gold. Mankind is destructive and we were and are bad stewards of the world we live in.
 
[192 | 365 – ‘Waikino Kilns’ – The kids emerge from exploring the Waikino Kilns. Awesome knowledgeable volunteers gave us a great tour of the museum, kilns and tramaway ride.]

191 | 365 Complete Bliss

Bach + beach + white sand + surf + salt air + afternoon walk + family = complete bliss!

[191 | 365 - ‘Complete Bliss’ - Talia enjoys wading through the surf on a beautiful Good Friday at Bowentown]