Nathan has fun in Destin

Nathan enjoying the beach in Destin, Florida.

We’re in Destin, Florida, for the Mississippi Dental Association Convention.  I’ll be honest–I am not a beach person.  I don’t like sand.  I don’t like heat.  And I don’t like getting walloped by waves.

Nathan, on the other hand loves it.  And I’m a sucker for Nathan, so we spent several hours yesterday in the sun and sand.

While we were wading in the gulf, an adorable little girl made friends with Nathan.  I heard her father refer to her as “Mandolin.”  She held Nathan’s hand and advised him to jump whenever a menacing wave headed their way, sometimes even lifted him bodily to keep the water from going over his head.  They collected and examined broken bits of shells and sand dollars; Nathan gave her an intact auger, his best find of the day.  She was excited about her new treasure, and ran to show it off to her dad.  Nathan looked at me smiling and asked, “Wasn’t that sweet  of me?”

Usually, little kids ask Nathan about his chest scar from open heart surgery.  Kids are curious, and if their parents aren’t shushin’ them, they just ask what’s on their minds.  When the scar was new, he was a little timid about it, but it’s no big deal to him now.  The question is answered with matter-of-fact indifference, and he continues to play.  But she never asked; she just played and acted protective of him.  It was really a cute sight.

Nathan and friend bracing for a wave.

Finally, it was time to leave.  He was not happy about leaving.  “Sorry, buddy,” I said, “but we’ve been out here a long time, and we’ve got to eat lunch.”  They said goodbye to each other, and we headed toward my beach chair to gather our belongings.  But Nathan said he needed to tell her one more thing and waded back into the water.  In the breeze and crashing waves, I couldn’t hear what he said.

When he caught back up with me, I asked him what he told his little beach friend.  “I told her that we could never be more than just friends,” he said in all seriousness, “but if she wanted to, she could reach me at my website:  Nathan’s Prayer, dot com.”

That boy cracks me up daily.

Tags: heart surgery, Nathan