Morning Constitutional

There's something about a morning walk down Central Avenue that kind of makes me want to whistle. Probably something like "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah." The breeze still blows cool, and the salt air mixes with the scent of slowly blooming flowers and freshly turned soil. Houses are slowly starting to awaken, and we are sometimes greeted with the sound and smell of sizzling bacon. When you pass someone, you greet them with a quiet "good morning" and a smile, which is always returned.

Following a cup of coffee and a requisite 30 minutes of the news, we're ready for an activity. I can't think of anything better than a quick dousing of sun screen and a hike down Central. I plop the baby in her stroller and the kids don helmets and hop on their bikes. We have our car here in Ocean City, but there's a certain freedom that comes with living in a town where you can walk or bike almost anywhere. It would have thrilled me as a kid to live here and to be able to bike to the park or corner store. As an adult, who can drive anywhere she wants to, I still find it exciting.

Like many mornings, our destination today is the playground on 29th and West. It's a small tot lot, with a climbing structure and slides, a see-saw, and some baby swings. There's a little seat under the slide and the boys like to pretend they are serving mulch ice cream to imaginary customers. (I see a boardwalk job at Kohr Brothers in their future.) The baby is tickled to observe these pretend transactions from the swing.

The best part about this playground is it is right next door to a fire station. It is a busy place. I don't hear of too many emergencies here, but they always seem to be rushing off somewhere, sirens blaring. In quiet times, they are almost always washing the fire truck. Last time we rode past, they got Carter with the hose. It was an accident, but he loved it and gleefully told his brother of the adventure. A time before, they let the kids climb into the fire truck and sit in the seats, accompanied by a standing invitation to come back for more of the same. They were awe-struck.

Our trip to the playground today was short-lived. The playground was alive with hungry mosquitoes. We headed home, just in time for Charlotte to nap. Although rain is in the forecast again, the sun is still shining and we have to enjoy the pleasant weather while we still can. I've equipped the boys with a bucket of water and a couple of sponges--they are industriously "washing" their bikes, to the amusement of passers-by.

Although they don't quite express it like I do, the boys are enjoying this morning too. Busily cleaning his bike, Will has started to whistle. . .