The Bliss of a Child

“For my birthday I want beach,” the forthcoming 4 year old slurred, mouth full of chewed cereal. She corrected herself after finishing her bite of breakfast. “I want to go to the beach for my birthday.” Her name is Jermanie, like the country she was born in, only spelled differently in a way meant to be more cute, more unique but pronounced all the same like Germany. She was born on the sea; her mother was traveling on the US Navy boat as a 2nd in command until her water broke and moments later the introspective child was here. It was like ever since that moment all she thought about was the sea. Call her Moana from Disney if you want or even Ariel the Little Mermaid, all Jermanie thought of was the beach, the ocean, the water. She would cry if she was taken from the bath tub after playtime was over and it was actually time to bathe and her favorite thing to play with, then and even now? A cup of water where she splashes all of her toys around and about. So it didn’t surprise me, her eldest cousin, when she asked to go to the beach for her upcoming 4th birthday. I gave her mother, my aunt a pointed look and we both knew that instead of planning an extravagant elaborate party with happy screaming kids and cake and candy and unicorns decorations galore, we would just take a family trip down to the beach where she could see the “the line where the sky meets the sea” that called her, ergo Moana of course. When we arrived at the beach on her birthday, Jermanie could not contain her excitement. As soon as the car stopped to park, her big and brown doe eyes widened at the vast blue crashing back and forth against the pure white sand that stretched for miles. She was so giddy, the child kicked her flip-flops off in the car, wiggling her toes. It amazed me at how someone who had never in their only four years of living been to the beach, knew so much about the beach, right down to the little moment of happiness that can be given from feeling the sand wiggle and slip between your toes. She smiled her 1000 watt smile once her car seat belt was unbuckled and she was given the “ALL CLEAR” from her mommy and daddy to help us find the perfect spot for her birthday picnic and to settle. She chose gullibly right near the shoreline where the brush of ocean water crashes then flows back but we suggested a little further away in order to avoid ... you know, getting unnecessarily splashed with beach salt water. After settling in, the child skipped merrily to the cold California ocean waters. On a hot summer day, ranging from the high 80s to 90s, the ocean still manages to stay cold but she didn’t mind it. She splashed and played to her heart’s content. It was heartwarming and truly sweet to see a young girl so excited and happy to be in the water. Jermanie jumped head first in and came up to the surface laughing as the wave gently rocked and hit her. She splashed and wiggled around in the water for over an hour. Most kids fear the beach and the waves, not wanting to go near and are mainly fascinated with the sand and making castles; not Jermanie! All she wanted to do that day was play in the water. She dragged me from my comfortable spot, cold water dripping all over onto me and walked me over to stand and watch her skip across the water, giggling all while she did so. I was happy and it touched my heart to see her so blissful at the most smallest thing ever. Although the water was cold and I dreaded standing as the waves crashed and water splashed over my shorts and sometimes onto my shirt, I stood in that spot watching her... then my hand reached for my IPhone tucked in my hand, safe from being wet from the ocean. It was said the new iPhones are waterproof and while I still didn’t want to take any chances, I held it out, clicking over to the portrait mode and began snapping pictures as if I were a photographer. I saw an old trick of finding the perfect lighting so I held my finger down on the camera, locking the focus grid in place, which would activate the AE/AF lock to better keep the camera at the settings I chose. My finger slid down the lighting and I snapped one final picture of her in action, skipping almost gracefully across the water. She came back and hugged me with wide open and wet arms. Jermanie was so happy that day, claiming spending the day at the beach was the best birthday ever. That night once we got home and relaxed, I looked through all of the photos I took of the little one, amazed at the quality and pure emotion shown through just the snap of a picture on my smartphone. This picture truly shows the bliss of a child. A child who loves the beach and a child who is truly enjoying her time on the beach. Not taken on a professional camera but a simple iPhone camera. She was my inspiration that day. Her actions were my subject that day. And this picture truly captures just what the title of this story is. The bliss right of a child.