A few weeks ago, on a day that was supposed to be 108 degrees here, our family loaded up the car with beach stuff and drove an hour and a half away for a fun-filled (and cooler day) at Stinson Beach!  Only…when we got there, we were too late!  Everyone on the planet had beat us there and we could not find a single place to park…unless we parked miles away (any parent of little ones knows that’s just not an option).

We drove around the town and the beaches nearby for an hour desperately looking for parking and just couldn’t find one single spot!  It was SO weird!  Even if Mike dropped us off and parked the car…he’s be gone for years before finally getting to join us at the beach!  People were doing crazy things like parking on red painted curbs…as if parking in a red zone wasn’t bad enough…they were actually on top of the red curb too!  It was as if they’d just HAD IT and didn’t care anymore!!  “Go ahead and ticket me…at least I got a spot!!” 🙂

Just to make things WORSE, this was supposed to be our special “beach birthday celebration” for Kael…I had even baked a cake and brought it along!  As our kiddos were in the back seat getting restless, I was internally kicking myself for not thinkin
g to head to the beach the second we all woke up.  Eventually, we ended up eating our picnic lunch in the car!  Trying to tell the kids we couldn’t go to the beach because we just couldn’t find a place to park was horrible…not to mention it sounded ridiculous!!  We always find a way…and today there was no way! One of my kids started crying, and I literally told the Lord in my head, “Really God?  This is for Kael’s birthday!  Are we really not going to be able to have this fun day today…because we can’t PARK?!?”

“Super Mom” finally showed up (that’s me caffeinated, remember?) and said, “Well guys, we’re going to turn lemons into lemonade (such a “mom thing” to say, right?)  “Let’s come back next weekend before everyone else does and do this over again!”  I looked at Mike and he nodded that yes, we would indeed try again!  🙂  (Love that man!!)  “In the meantime, who wants ice cream?”  So, we located the nearest ice cream parlor in Sausalito…but when we got there…I’m SO NOT kidding…we couldn’t park there either!!  It’s as if everyone else who couldn’t park at the beach decided to go get ice cream too!!!  It was an absolute ZOO!  Mike and I agreed that we didn’t want to spend an hour to park just to wait in a thirty minute line for an ice cream cone!!  The “lemonade out of lemons” I was trying to make was quickly turning sour….

Hang on… it get’s better!  We decided to get ice cream closer to home and get away from the crowds…so we got on the Richmond bridge only to be slowed down to a crawl pace…there was some kind of car on fire…so we sat in MORE slow traffic!  I was trying to be empathetic to the poor people who just lost their car…but selfishly, I was annoyed!!  How dare they let their car catch on fire?!  Now we have to wait even longer on this dumb bridge!!  I felt myself turning into one of those people who parked on red curbs…yikes! (I know, I felt guilty about it too…just being honest…and I even prayed for the people who’s car caught on fire…really!!) Then suddenly I remembered the cake!  At least we still had the cake! I passed out cake and forks on party plates and let my kids eat it in a moving vehicle…but I didn’t care about a cake mess later…it was something GOOD!  🙂

We FINALLY got back to our hometown and it was 108 degrees (just like the weather man had said) and we were SO READY for ice cream…and guess what?!  The ice cream store was closed!  I’m so not making this up!! At 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon…on what felt like the hottest day in the history of the world…the ice cream store was closed!  What is going on?!?  This whole day began to be so ridiculously BAD that I began to take pictures of it!!!  How weird is THAT?!  “Hey kids, remember that really terrible day we had back in August of 2015?!” 🙂  Yeah, that’s the memory I was hoping to make for them when I woke up that morning!  It’s as if every decision we made was the wrong one!  Yes, that’s the picture I took of the closed ice cream parlor!  Mike even parked the car for me so I could run out and take a picture of it!  I thought no one would believe me otherwise!!

As a mom, I kept a very lighthearted and cheery attitude for my precious family…but after we FINALLY found ice cream, made it home and unloaded our beach stuff…the beach stuff we never got to use…I went in my bedroom and cried a little.  You know, that baby Mama crying I do!  I hadn’t really saved myself any “lemonade”, I guess.  I was just SO bummed.  “Happy Birthday, Kael…” I said so disappointed.  Cue the sad music for this wiped out and frustrated Mommy!

The following weekend, we loaded up the car the night before, woke up early, scarfed down breakfast, and headed for the beach!  If there was one thing we learned anyway, it was to plan ahead and get an earlier start!  It was a foggy day at the beach, but we didn’t care!  We got a front row parking spot, and even found seashells…whole baby sand dollars we probably would not have found had we come later.  There was playing in the sand, picnic lunches, chasing seagulls, and lots of laughter…and we had a wonderful day!  🙂  It felt like a victory!!

I have no idea why we had to go through that first unsuccessful beach attempt though.  I keep trying to find a hidden meaning in it or something…as if it needs to be explained!! 🙂  Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that sometimes things just don’t always work out the way we want them to…and that’s okay.  Sometimes, there are disappointing circumstances that we have no control over.  I was reminded at church recently, that we can choose how we REACT to those circumstances though, and not let them get us down.  It made me remember beach day.  I want to react well when things don’t go as planned…so instead, I’m putting my focus on the One who can surprise me with unexpected blessings…like finding perfect sand dollars on the beach in the early hours of the morning!  Wait a second…did I just find meaning in that ridiculous day after all?! I think I did! 😉

Like finding hidden sea shells on the beach…

“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the One who calls you by name…”  Isaiah 45:3