Bits of Joy - Agats

Last weekend, we went to the coast. We arrived at one of our favorite beaches, Fogarty Creak just a little after high tide. As the waves slowly pulled back more and more, they revealed these little hidden treasures. Agates! In the hundreds. My wife and oldest son were off hunting far up the beach. I barely saw either of them. My other three kids played on this rock ledge, setting up their camp chairs as if they ruled the beach, finding different ways of climbing up the rock.

I stayed close, trying to always keep them in site. Consequently, my own agate hunting ground remained confined to a relatively small area. In fact a few times, I simply sat on the ground and picked up only those agates within reach.  I still found some real beauties and a lot of them.

At one point a woman and her husband asked me, “what is everyone looking for?” There were probably twenty or thirty people agate hunting all along the beach. I told the woman to hold out her hand. I took a small handful of agates and pored them into her hands. Her face lit up. She made some comment like, “they’re beautiful.” I told her they were agates and they were all over. The sun was starting to go down and the angle of the light made it easier to find them. I told her she could keep those ones I gave her and that I had a lot more. While she and her husband were right there, I picked up two or three more agates. It was fun to share just a little bit of joy.