30 Aug, 2007
Message in a bottle
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy|Ottawa|Photography
1. Island Park Bridge, 2. Ready to throw!, 3. There they are!, 4. Watching the bottles, 5. Exploring the riverside, 6. “Look! I’m on an island!”
It’s hard being a mom when your body is playing host to THE SICK. It’s easier when you have a pair of kids who know how to entertain themselves. The girls have been most excellent this past week.
I spent a lot of time lying down, or just sitting, unable to do much of anything.
From time to time I trudged out to get the girls focused on some kind of activity, just to shake it up and get them doing something different. I felt guilty being sick, like I was ruining the last week of their summer holidays. What a mom, eh?
*sigh*
I don’t know where the idea came from, but we decided to do a message in a bottle.
I had actually planned on doing this some time ago. A couple weeks ago I swiped some plastic 1L pop bottles out of someone’s blue box and washed them out.
I know it would have been best if I let each girl write their own message, but frankly, I didn’t have the energy. The girls dictated and I typed. The message included our location, the date, and our email address. I printed two copies of the letter and the girls drew pictures on the bottom and the back of the pages, then rolled them up and tucked one in each bottle.
The other night we went down to the Island Park bridge to set them free. Sarah was a little sad about saying goodbye to her artwork.
It was pretty exciting. The girls dropped them off the bridge (it’s a long way down) and we watched them until we couldn’t see them anymore. It took a very long time for them to disappear out of sight. They reflected the light of the setting sun the whole way down the river.
We wondered where they could end up. The answer is: pretty much anywhere. It will be a miracle if someone finds one, but that’s part of what I like about this kind of thing… the not knowing.
Afterwards we went down the explore the river. I came home with a few bits of beach glass, some smooth river rocks, and goose poop on the cuff of my pants, but I’d say it was a great day overall.
