My very-favorite-ball-in-the-whole-wide-world

This is the story of my very-favorite-ball-in-the-whole-wide-world and a mean and evil sneaker wave. Have you heard of sneaker waves before?  Do you know how dangerous they are?  I'm two now so sure, I'd heard about sneaker waves once or twice before.  I fully understood that meant that you couldn't go in barefoot, that you needed to be wearing shoes to logically protect your feet.  I'd seen signs posted, warning folks about them and suggesting that you never-ever turn your back on them but I never once thought it could apply to me.  And so my story goes like this...

I have this favorite ball.  It's incredibly cool for so many reasons, like it has a hole in the center so when it's thrown just right, it whistles.  If you hold it in your mouth just right, it's great fun to chomp on and it charges up from light so that you can see it in the dark.  I love this ball and if I had my way, I'd pack it EVERYWHERE I go!  If you don't have one, I'm here to tell  you,   you need one.  Sooner better than later.

My mom and I walk in the sand along the river every morning, just before it gets light enough to see.  Mom believes it's good for our physical health and that watching the sun come up is good for our soul.  Who knows, she might be right, she is occasionally about other things.  Never before had she let me take my very-favorite-ball-in-the-whole-wide-world out to the sand with us but today I somehow convinced her.  It might have been because I'd been particularly cute this morning, or that I'd been such a good girl or it could have been because it's Tuesday, we'll just never know for sure but the ball and I hit the beach running.  Mom called ahead and warned me not to let it get close to the waters edge but by then I had the wind on my face, the sand between my toes and my very-favorite-ball-in-the-whole-wide-world in my mouth and I wasn't hearing a single word she said.

The ball, me and Mom were having a lovely stroll and I was having a blast showing off my ball to the seagulls and ducks along our route.  Everyone seemed most impressed.  After a bit my jaws were getting a little tired so I put my ball down just long enough to take a moments break and get a different hold on it when out of no where, along came one of those vicious, hateful sneaker waves and grabbed my very-favorite-ball-in the whole-wide-world right from between my front feet!  Mom was a ways ahead of us and didn't actually see it happen but when she glanced back and saw me at the waters edge, empty mouthed and gazing out into the waters, she quickly figured it out.  We checked the water and even grabbed a stick in hopes of spotting it and being able to help it back to shore but there was no sign of it at all.  Mom said it should float but nope, it was no where in sight.  We searched as long as we could and then it was time to head home.  Boy, was I depressed at the thought of never seeing my very-favorite-ball-in-the-whole-wide-world ever again.  How could I be expected to carry on?  I hung my head and started for the car, trailing as far behind Mom as I possibly could when all of a sudden I heard her yell my name.  There it was, just a foot or so from shore, bouncing along, carried much farther by the waters motion than we had expected.  Other than the bathtub, I am not much of a fan of large bodies of water but was doing my best to work up the courage to jump in when Mom just took a few steps into the river and snagged my ball for me.  That's my idea of a true hero!

 This story has a happy ending but also a moral... pay heed to those warnings and never ever trust those sneaker waves, whether you are wearing shoes or not!

Loves & Licks,

Stella