Absolute perfection. Blue sky, soft sand and inviting surf. Day 1 of our beach holiday, and all was well with the world.

That was, until Tyson spotted the seemingly abandoned sandcastle. Front and centre, between the red and yellow flags on the busy foreshore.

Instinct took over, and he did what any red-blooded 3-and-a-half-year-old would have done… he ran straight through the middle with complete, unadulterated excitement. Come on, what would you have done?

Reconstruction

Then, from somewhere amongst the waves, an angry figure appeared and made his way to the shore. He shook his head sternly at Tyson, and walked a few steps behind us to retrieve his shovel. Yes people, this was a grown man with a shovel and a pick, recreating his dishevelled sandcastle with disdain.

His son soon appeared from the surf and joined in the mission.

Okay, to be fair, I overheard him explaining to someone that this was a perfect pyramid replica, built to scale.

But… ummm… it’s the middle of Summer… on a busy beach… right between the flags. What would you have done if your son had deconstructed this masterpiece?

Fun in the Sun

We moved to the right of the flags and had a fabulous afternoon teaching the boys how to throw a Frisbee. Looking over my shoulder as our boys giggled and ran around in the sand, I saw the ‘pyramid man’ and his son standing guard. That’s right people… STANDING GUARD over their construction. I had to feel sorry for his son, who looked like he’d much rather be riding his boogie board than protecting a sandcastle from toddlers and high tide.

A family nearby was constructing their own ‘masterpiece’, laughing as turrets tumbled and the moat caved in. Now, they were having fun. Eventually, the tide came in and misshaped their work. They laughed, gave up and decided that was their cue to head home.

Tyson looked up at me with his heartwarmingly cheeky grin: ‘That would be a great sandcastle to jump on.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘Come on,’ I said and off we went. The wet sand was cool under our feet and I don’t know why, but jumping on that sandcastle with Tyson laughing heartily beside me felt sooo good!

“Pyramid Man’s” perfect pyramid will be gone by the morning, but our memories will last forever.

___

Originally published at Mum Daily. Photo by Vlad Fonsark.