July

Peace and quiet can only go so far. Then you have to add some exuberance with expressions that makes you laugh and activity that makes you keep wanting more. Ah, youth! When Chris was added to the mix, so did the shoving and teasing. The jokes were abundant. The interaction between brothers is classic. Then along comes Stelios, and Elias, and Alexander. They hug like professional wrestlers. First they get that look in their eye... then they plant that back foot which allows them that extra power to launch forward into a bear hug, which causes everything and everybody in their way (usually the younger brother) to fall to the floor. Then they innocently stand up as if their mission to conquer was successful. And they move on.

As you get older, does it sometimes seem that your emotions have peaked? Scenes can be breathtaking and -- wow! But it isn't that "Oh my gosh this is the most fabulous, incredible, the best, the coolest thing I have ever seen", kind of emotion. Food can be delicious, but it isn't that "mmm....ummm....ummmm! This is to die for; I can't tell you how good this is"; you have to try this"; kind of experience. Or "goodnight dear, I love you", -- little kiss -- little pat on the back -- "sweet dreams". As opposed to "oooh I love you so much", -- big hugs -- big squeezes, a mmmmaw kiss at least three times, and then more goodnights all the way to bed, kind of thing.

That is why youth is so important. It brings back that freshness, that zest for life. It reminds us what it was like to see and experience for the first time. It is having legs that are about 18" long running down a sidewalk with rubber Crocs on, as fast and furious as you can... head down, arms pumping, barely able to get one leg in front of the other fast enough. Your destination is unknown and you don't care. Just run! Then all of a sudden, there is a hand that grabs your collar from behind, saving you from something you didn't even know you needed saving from. And words "out of the mouths of babes" so innocently spoken and sometimes not so innocently spoken.

We have been to the beach two days in a row. It is best to go early when the sea is calm. The water is clear enough to see the lines and textures of the rocks below and the seaweed that looks like little garden snakes, the waves just lapping at the beach. The water is cold enough to take your breath away when you first step in, but warm enough to refresh you once you take the plunge. Everybody becomes lazy at the beach. Telly is big enough to go far enough in, that he needs to tread water. Goggle clad, he bobs up and down, while exploring the sea floor. Elias is big enough to run along the edge of the water throwing rocks in to watch them sink to the bottom, and laugh and scream at the grownups playing frisbee and football in the water. And Alexander is just big enough to sit in the sand and fill up the plastic toy dump-truck, over and over again. He also picks up rocks to throw, but his path needs a constant reminder to stay clear of Elias. Papou Lou is taking great joy in walking along the beach at a snail's pace to give one, two or three little boys time to study the rocks or a bug or whatever their eye catches. "The really cool things", that grownups miss or take for granted. A rock can be picked up, examined on all sides, held in one hand and then the other and then tossed into the deep blue sea, misplaced forever. Papou Lou is also the best for bathroom runs and carrying in the water that is un-manueverable for little bodies. He can be splashed in the face, (unlike Zsa Zsa), and climbed over with rough sandy bodies, and not complain or flinch (unlike Zsa Zsa). Papou Lou is one with the sea and the breeze right now. He is floating with this experience. I have to tell you the laugh for the day came when Elias said quietly, "Papou Lou, can you take me to my home in New York so I can go poop"? Needless to say, he couldn't, but that's not to say he wouldn't.