(This was written in 2023. Enjoy!)

So this past weekend my husband and our three kids joined his friend, his wife and their daughter at their family’s beach house on the Bolivar Peninsula. Now, anyone who knows us knows that we both are what they call extroverted introverts. We are lively and fun — only around people that we really enjoy being around—which is few to none.

We are very particular about the people we allow in our space because we’ve been fucked over a lot by others, to put it bluntly.

But, he had been talking about his friend and his family and how he wanted us all to get together—especially our daughters so that they could meet and play together. So, of course I was down with that. Usually a situation like this would bring me terrible anxiety, but I felt good going into this, and I am so glad that we did.

Some people show you just how much blood isn’t always thicker than lemonade.

I used the term lemonade because being around this sweet couple and their family was much more refreshing than water. They are steps above water—they are as refreshing as a nice glass of lemonade. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more comfortable, refreshed, and satisfied around “strangers” as I felt this past weekend. Our daughter Jazzy turned two the Wednesday before this trip and of course I was not expecting them to have anything for her birthday—I mean they’ve never met her and we aren’t used to certain people doing much for us or our kids (especially family).

So you can imagine how shocked I was to know that they had gotten her a bag full of gifts—one gift was a Blues Clues toy which really warmed my heart because she is an avid Blues Clues fan—she knows everything there is to know about Blue and Steve. She also had a cake and balloons that were all over the floor for her to play with with her new bestie.

We should always take it upon ourselves to learn from children.

I was a little concerned on how nice our daughter was going to be, being that she doesn’t get as much kid interaction as a kid who is in daycare. But, surprisingly, Jazzy went in there and made a friend, immediately. They laughed and played together like they’d known each other all their little baby lives. Seeing our baby girl go in there, no signs of shying away or nervousness, and making a friend warmed our hearts in a way that I cannot put into words—even as a writer. The innocence of children is something that should never be taken for granted.

The next day when we got on the beach, and got as settled as we could with two little ones, I wanted to make sure that our oldest who is seven had a good time, too. It’s not always ideal that older kids play with the younger ones. Of course they’ll play, but the older ones typically get bored quickly, understandably.

Just as I was about to go over there to build a sand castle with him, my husband stopped me, and pointed to the little kid that was already making his way over to him. We stopped and just watched the interaction. The little boy tapped him on his shoulder and asked to play. It took him a minute to be ok with this—all thanks to the shy spirit he has because of me—but within 20 minutes time, they were playing, laughing, and letting the waves crash into their faces. The little boy was the only kid with the three men that he came with. It worked out though, because as soon as he made a friend, the three men went further into the ocean to fish—I am assuming they didn’t do this prior because they didn’t want to leave the boy alone. It was almost an unspoken thing—of course I will keep an eye on him while you guys fish so he can play with his new friend. It didn’t even have to be said—and to be honest I loved that. Sometimes, we can be very untrusting of people. But there are times when it just feels right, and that was one of those times. I am sure the men he was with could sense that we wouldn’t let anything happen to the young boy and we wanted him to be able to play with our son. Seeing them laughing and playing like they’d known each other for years was very sweet and refreshing.

The way kids just walk up to each other — or crawl — and become friends instantly is something that we all should take from as adults. Sometimes we miss out on beautiful connections from allowing our anxiety and past traumas to shelter us (preaching to the choir here).

Faith in humanity has been restored.

Just as we were leaving the beach, we ended up getting the car stuck in the sand. Everyone was watching us struggle to get this car unstuck while also not trying to flood the engine with grains. But ya know, there are still some good people in the world.

Four men walked over looking like they knew exactly what they were doing. One of them was speaking Spanish, explaining what needed to be done. I didn’t understand a word he said, but all I knew was that this car was about to come up out of the sand fast—him and his buddies were determined. They helped each other push the car and within seconds—we were free.

This may not seem like a lot to some people, but for me it is. You know how easy it is for people to sit idly and record these types of incidents for their social media instead of helping? Yeah, I see it all the time. But these men were not concerned about anything other than making sure we got out of the sand—engine unscathed.

The weekend of fulfillment that we desperately needed.

My husband and I have been going through so much recently—mentally, spiritually and emotionally. With three kids, one being a toddler and one being a newborn, it has been very hard. Life has been hard. Money has been tight—but we have been making it through, together.

Being able to be around loving people, fun energy, and feeling at peace was something that we both needed so much. We needed this weekend to help us restore our faith that everything will be okay.

Friendship and good people are so important—because these times where you are feeling down, lost, and overwhelmed, friends come in and make it all better for a while. Wiping the slate clean and forcing you to look at things in a different light—a more positive one.

So, cheers to our new friends, you guys are stuck with us now!