Family Frisbee Lesson - Part 1

Well, with our gallant return to our old haunt when our kids were infants and toddlers; the knowledge that the hotel was still there; and the fact that our instant sighting of the place brought back all of those good memories, there seemed to be nothing that could get in our way of enjoying terrific family time ......... at least one would think so!

As a bit of background, when I was a little whippersnapper, my dad's version of a vacation was to always be on the move and see and do as much as possible. However, my wife's family believed that a vacation consisted of getting to a destination and then doing as little as possible!

Well, even though I grew up believing that my dad's method was correct, being the good husband and extended family member, I learned to slow down on vacation during the days when my wife and I would take vacations with her parents.

So, back to our story of enjoying each other at our old haunt, we were doing what we do best .... relaxing on the beach with bottles of drinking water and fresh fruit and doing absolutely nothing, other than enjoying some good conversation.

Ahhhh, life could not get much better, as I was thoroughly enjoying our time together, perhaps more than usual, as we all knew that this could be the last time for the five of us together.

Then, ... it happened. A simple event occurred that would propel me, and my offspring - against their desires - up off of the beach and into action! Yes, in one moment, we went from a docile crew to a group that knew that it had to do something!

So, what happened? A 65-year-old guy and his 40-ish daughter got up right in front of us and began to competitively toss a Frisbee to each other. They were trying trick shots, curves, and other such spectacular shots, all seemingly to appear as though they were competing and trying to outdo each other. It was also obvious that they had probably played quite a bit when the daughter was younger. If I didn't know better, I presumed, they were probably reliving a part of their past vacations, as well.

After about 15 minutes of Frisbee, they quickly got out a football and began to send each other left, right, and deep for passes! They were energetic, competitive, and having a great time, all while we "relaxed" and did nothing but take in the sun and enjoy our snacks.

Then, after about 15 minutes of playing football, they quickly got out a beach tennis game and the competition seemed to increase, as dad and daughter tried to outdo each other. They were awesome to watch, as I admired the father/daughter team having a lot of fun .... while we did nothing!

(Please come back next week for Part 2)


Paul W. Reeves