essay

Author Ron Daise looks for joy and finds it in remembering his children in their youth.

Splash! The sound floods my mind with memorable snapshots from when my children were infants and toddlers.

My daughter Sara Makeba was born following an emergency cesarean, and my son Simeon Othello was born at home following 36 long hours of labor. Because my wife Natalie couldn't lift anything for weeks following the birth of each child, bath time throughout their infancy was Daddy-time! My wife never experienced this joy. Splash! Splash! Splash!

As a toddler, Sara had a built-in GPS for puddles. Stepping into them following summertime showers was her penultimate joy. Her state of dress as she paraded toward one i usually when neither parent had noticedi was not an issue for her. She could be barefoot and in play clothes or dressed in patent leather shoes and Sunday finery. It didn't matter. Splash! A dance of triumph would ensue before she'd plop in her watery play land. A smile of bliss then would bathe her face.

Simeon's Kodak moments of summertime water fun were experienced poolside. Dressed in a sky blue padded float-suit, he learned after his first dive that he could not sink. He would flail himself into the water, with the excited laughter of a toddler-on-a-mission. Splash! Down below the surface, he'd plunge, then rise up and float to the side. Again and again. Hour after hour. The routine never bored him!

I've gained two great lessons from my children: Look for joy; and when you find iti enjoy it! The South Carolina Lowcountry offers several marvelous options from which to choose.

Learn about Gullah history by visiting Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, where I work as vice president for creative education; or Penn Center on St. Helena Island, where I was born; or numerous other sites in Charleston County. Enjoy spectacular sunsets and panoramic coastal views as you drive to and fro. Slow down. Find a puddle and splash! Remember: Look for joy; and when you find iti enjoy it!

Natalie wants to visit each South Carolina State Park before this year ends. I'll join her. As the waves caress each beach's shoreline, we'll listen and laugh as we hear a sound that reminds us of our children, our two greatest accomplishments. Splash!