A love story

This was one of those random pics that I took without thinking much, but I keep coming back to it and I have fallen in love with it. This dad picked up his son to show him the sea.

By the sea

He'd never heard us fight before, he was scared. He cringed, withdrew and retreated to his bedroom. Played silently in the corner with his favorite red car. Silent Jake was sad and it broke my heart. I've always seen him alive, loud vibrant, always running around, always talking. But this, this was so unusual. 

At that time I realized, that the loud argument Beth and I had, affected little Jake. I felt horrible. It was as though I had let him down. I needed do something, I needed to take him away. Let him know he's safe, that everything was okay.

I told Beth, I was going for a walk with Jake and Flash, it was time to take Flash out, he needed our attention too, he sat there staring at his leash. I pulled Beth aside kissed her cheek and told her I was sorry for all the yelling, it was a stupid fight. She agreed and apologized too. She was worried about Jake and wanted to get him some cookies and give him a hug. I asked her to wait till we got back, she smiled and nodded.

Jake and I took the winding road near Bray. Our favorite walk. He would always run ahead and run back and then shuttle between us and the next hundred paces. But today he was quiet. His head hung low. My poor little boy. I had to explain to him that people who love each other argue too, that arguments can be resolved and that its okay to have a difference of opinion.

He loved looking at the sea and that gave me an idea. I picked him up and showed him the sea. I asked him, "Jake, what do you see?"

He said, "The sea"

I asked, "You hear how loud it is, so angry, pounding at the shore?". 

He nodded.  

"Do you think the sea is angry at the land?", I asked.

He nodded. 

I said "Though its loud and pounding at the shore, its just talking to the shore and in time the sea will calm down and not be so angry. Thats how the sea and shore talk to each other. It doesn't mean that they are angry at each other. Just like me and mom, we may be loud sometimes but doesn't mean we are angry at each other. You understand?"

He nodded, he looked relieved. He looked convinced. 

And we spent about 5 minutes there staring at the sea, listening to it pound on the shore and believing everything will be okay. And it was.