Riverside antics

The thought of going to the river worries people no end ...sunburn , bull sharks , drowning ...not to mention the dirt . Anyhow we convinced our friend to come and the boys had a ball skylarking in the shallows . It was almost relaxing . My friend there is not relaxed at the best of times and in spite of the effect of half a beer she shrieked at the kids intermittently . Poor kids desperate to free themselves of their wet clothing but their mum was not going to risk them getting burnt yet again .
For all the difficulties getting the children there painted with sunscreen and complaining about leaving their home base ...it was worth it .
Seeing them play together free and having fun . Being left alone for 30 minutes by children was a welcome reprieve .
I hate that I feel guilty about these seemingly non-productive sessions I have - not much tangible product to show for their, nor my, benefit . We have not made money doing this and there is no direct Link to the short nor long term benefit it will have on their social , emotional, physical ...wellbeing and yet it brightens our day and reminds us of what is enjoyable. Last time there was an old lady strumming away st her guitar with her family . Straw grass she was planted happily under the gumtrees happy with little else but ..I don’t feel happy though as it doesn’t feel acceptable to live like this.
Great pic to leave you with so next time you swim in the river you can buy into the myth of shark-infested rivers...