December 2021 Story 13: Bayside Carols

We were so lucky to have Family Fun Day type experiences happening despite COVID. Last year many community events were cancelled so it was great to see the Bayside Carols by Candlelight on again. We haven’t been to one before and our plan was not to stick around for these either because we needed an early night. We had already had a wonderful day of adventure, and this was just a little trip to the shoreline to get the sillies out before bed time. It was so awesome. There were a lot of activities put on for the kids and food trucks and the music started at 4pm. It’s the kind of event where you run into the locals so Kaiya and Kirra had school friends that we ran into. Some families were there for the night and had elaborate picnics set up with food platters and wine and camp lights for when it got darker.
 
This year there was a tragedy in Tasmania in the last week or so for five beautiful little ones just like our little ones, in a community just like ours too.  A little boy walked up as I spoke to the man who owned the inflatable castle today. The boy was concerned about the jumping castle being weighted down and secured. The owner walked the little boy around the structure and showed him the steel pegs in the ground. The boy jumped on and played and the man mentioned that was a common thing in the last few days where kids came to him with their fears, wanting to discuss their safety.  The man was kind, and lovely and patient. We talked about how lucky our kids are here in this community, and country, but also how much they see and the  heavy weight our kids carry in their minds from COVID and the recent tragedy. We talked about modern slavery as a theme as well and the preciousness of childhood. We talked about the gifts we had as kids and how lucky we got. We talked about how precious life is. 

Feeling all the feels this season but living the full breadth and width.