Wishing Rocks

We went to the beach for dinner tonight. It was a nice end to a day that was hot and steamy and a bit sad.

I told C about his classmate while sitting on the dock at the harbor. He didn't know him well - just hellos in the hallway. C says he feels sad and that it's a little creepy. He expressed concern for a close friend of the boy who died, how J was doing with the news. We went by the church and put up a prayer card for him. C was subdued the rest of the afternoon.

By 5:30 the school's information dispersion system kicked in and all the families in his school had received a prerecorded message asking that parents look at the school Web site. That notice was careful and considerate, conveying just the necessary information, and directing parents to helpful grief Web sites.

One of the things we like to do at the beach is look for wishing rocks: rocks that have a natural circle around them. They look a little like Oreos sometimes - usually it's a layer of quartz making the circle part.

Just before we left, I asked C to help me find a wishing rock. I needed to make a wish. He found such a rock - a nicely tumbled little stone. I went to the edge of the rising tide and threw it as far as I could as I made my standard every-time-I-find-a-wishing-rock wish for my children's future. It felt a little more precious tonight.

Kiss your babies.