Santa Fe Dam Sunday

August 3rd, 2010. Published under family fun. 8 Comments.

I leave my kids by the water’s edge. The little girl wants to stay and look at the ducks. But they’re not really ducks. They’re Canada Geese, maybe the non-migratory kind. Under the dappled shade of a tree I spread  my green blanket (which is actually a table cloth), pile up my old throw pillows,  and stretch out  on the ground.

The gentle breeze cools me down after an hour spent under the noonday sun. I had been keeping an eye on my daughter who was playing in the water. Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, in Irwindale, has this awesome wading and spray pool for toddlers and preschool kids. Of course, maybe it’s not much compared to what they have at  big water theme parks, but an entrance fee of  two dollars per person is reason enough for me to give it an A rating.

The kids tire of watching the geese and join me in the  shade. Little girl looks up at the sky while munching a cookie and declares: This is the life! The trees, the wind, and the river…..  Where does she get these lines? I smile in amusement, but I couldn’t agree more with her. They regale me with detailed reports of  how geese butts open and squirt poo into the water. The ten year old boy asks if he can drop a probe into the murky depths of the dam. Yes you can if you have  the gadget. I wonder what mysteries he hopes to uncover there. I shake my head discreetly. My boy has lots of bright ideas. One time he told me that he wants to meet with George Lucas so he can give the filmmaker some suggestions for the next Star Wars.

My son whines that he is bored and asks if we can rent a paddle boat or  a family cycle. Right on cue, a bell rings. A family cycle passes by, its cyclists huffing and puffing, all of them giggling. I know, those things are fun, but I don’t have enough money. Maybe next time when your dad is with us. Maybe you can even go fishing with him.

Just ride your scooter or go catch a dragonfly for now. He grumbles that they fly too high. Silly. You can’t catch them in flight. You have to stalk them the way a tiger stalks its prey. You have to be very quiet. Lie on the grass if you have to. And when they land, that’s your chance to get a hold of their tails. He goes off with his sister. When they spot some hovering dragonflies, they run after them, screaming at the top of their lungs, and not caring that they are disrupting another family’s soccer game. That’s not the way to do it, I shout. Realizing that they are not going to heed my advice, I return to my reading.

Soon they are back. Their faces are downcast. The boy badgers me that he wants to go exploring. Give me five more minutes and we’ll have a look at that bush on the other side of the water. Are those a bunch of  herons gathered there? The boy and girl leave me alone. I put my head down on the pillows to enjoy my last few moments of quiet. My mind starts to enumerate the tasks I have waiting at home: wash dishes, cook fish, arrange papers, fold the laundry. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. My mind is abuzz with a million details. I have less than five minutes of quiet left. Do I really want to spend it making a mental  TO DO list?

Who cares about those chores?!! I’m loving this wind on my face. Today is a day for rolling on the grass.