I greatly enjoyed our recent family trip to the aquarium.  I've been there before but since we only go every two years or so I always find the exhibits to be extremely fascinating.  As a "land dweller" and one who does not snorkel or scuba dive, it is easy for me to be generally unaware of what lies "under the surface" in the vast world we know as the ocean.   Yet that is where so much of the life on our planet exists; generally unseen and in many ways ignored.

The human mind heart are a lot like this.  We are all very aware of the thoughts that dwell (sometimes plague) our consciousness.  Our behaviors can be seen by all; our words can be heard, our thoughts constantly clamor for our attention.  But we all know that there is much more to "us" than what is seen or heard or even the thoughts of which we are aware.  So much of who we are, in reality, lies below the surface....

Recently, while taking a week of vacation, my wife, daughter, and I tried our hand at miniature golf.  Miniature golf is usually a part of our activities while on vacation in Colorado; so, having decided to stay in Oklahoma this year (due to covid-19), we wanted to include this in our week of "at home" activity together.  We played at a very nice miniature golf course in Tulsa.  It had lots of fun "twists," "turns," and "obstacles."  From a competition stand point we didn't do very well.  But we did, at least, have fun.  But in addition to our personal golfing experience, we also had fun watching and visiting with other families.

One of the families, that was just ahead of us, included:  parents, three children, and a grandmother, (whom I'm guessing might have been in her late 70's or early 80's), who was doing very well.  That is, until she came to hole 11 which started off with a significantly steep sloop and a dramatic turn to the left.  The slope was so steep that when I had my turn I had to "tee off" three times just to get my ball up the hill.  It was no wonder "grandma" was having so much difficult getting her ball to the top.  Every time she hit it, the ball would roll half way up then come rolling down again.  But then something wonderful happened...

Recently our grandsons, Andy & Sam, came to spend the week with us and my wife had a host of activities planned that they could enjoy together.  One of these was making "stepping stones."  These stones are made by mixing concrete and pouring it into a plastic cast; then decorating it with marbles, colorful stones, and "meaningful words."  

Making stepping stones is not a new activity for our family.  In fact, my wife did this very same activity with our children when they were young and we still have one of the stones (made for their mamma-d and D-dad) in our garden.