VictoriaFebruary 14 ❤️
Happy Valentine’s Day! What better way to celebrate than head to Sumner Beach, a quick 20 minute drive from our apartment. It was a beautiful day, sunny with a slight breeze to keep us cool and keep the sandflies away. Just perfect. So relaxing. Practically had the whole beach to ourselves.
Enter Sumner School Grade 3, 75 or so 7 year old kids.
First the head teacher came past us with her bright orange, construction-like vest, megaphone and sports cones. We actually thought she was the beach patrol to ward off the dog walkers on the beach since the signs clearly said, “No Dogs Allowed.”
Sadly, we were mistaken. The teacher marked the spot. Right next to us. Less than ten feet away. “So sorry,” she smiled and said, “Don’t worry. We won’t be long. You thought you were going to have a peaceful day at the beach didn’t you,” she smirked.
Then, uniformed student after student traipsed past our towels and plopped down right next to where we were sitting. You got the whole beach and this is where you sit? SMH.
Knowing that school periods are about 40 minute long, I knew their visit would be short lived, so I kept my mouth shut. After a quick Maōri lesson on local legends (very interesting btw), the kids were given free time to play.
Imagine walking over to the beach for class? That’s pretty cool.
When their time was up and they were walking back to school, one of the teachers turned to us and joked, “Wanna swap?” No, we most definitely do not.
I’ve been thinking about our recent visit to the Art Gallery, particularly one watercolor painting. Gretchen Albrecht’s “Vase of Flowers, 1970” reminded me of something I had seen before. It seemed familiar to me. I couldn’t put my finger on it until today when I had a lightbulb moment. AHA! Jake Lazar’s “Florida Vacation painting, 2008.”
Jake was 5. Were we as parents remiss in encouraging his artistic potential? Do you also see the confidence in his strokes, the expressive use of color, the abstract brilliance of his chosen subject? And to think his work could be hanging somewhere in a world renowned gallery right now. Shame on us.
Thankfully, Valentine’s Day is not much of a big deal here. Really, it was just another day that happened to end with a delicious dinner at Gatherings. The restaurant had some red ballons and a Valentine’s Day set menu featuring red accents throughout the meal. It was a nice understated touch to celebrate the end of an enjoyable day.
Happy Valentine’s Day. 🥰
