Earlier in the summer Dad, Momma and the kids took a day and went for a walk on the beach.  This day was actually prior to our holiday, however I have not had a chance to reflect or comment on it yet.  Have you ever had a day that to all intents and purposes could not be any better.  We went to our local beach and just walked along looking for odds and ends washed up on the shore.  The weather was warm but not too hot.  The waves were rolling gently to the sand.  We had planned nothing special and had no time schedule in mind.  Just walking, skipping stones and enjoying each other's company.  At one point a tired Mark and Momma fell down beside each other to sit on the sand.  There was just plain ol' silence other than the waves, the odd seagull calling and our thoughts.  Without any prompting Mark spoke up and broke the silence by saying "Mom, I love you".  Tears welled up in my eyes as this was totally unexpected and unsolicited.  This magic moment of pure love and peace between us.  I happened to be picking up stones and tossing them towards the water at that time when suddenly my hand fell on this stone. It felt odd in my fingers and on closer examination, I discovered the two tiny natural holes in it.  Why had I not tossed it into the water?  I found it strange that something had made me hesitate and look closer.  When Mark and I looked at it and the unusual holes I laughed and told him it was a "lucky stone".  I gave it to him so he "could always remember our perfect day on the beach".  Unfortunately Mark moved away from me as Daddy and I chatted to a friend and wandered about 100 feet away from us.  Suddenly he called out in panic "Mom I lost my lucky stone"!  In fact he had no idea where or when he had lost track of it.  Momma was not too pleased as there was a great deal of sand and lots of stones in the rather large area that he had been playing in.  By some miracle I eventually did find it lying in the sand nearly completely covered but with only one hole still sticking out of the sand, surrounded by thousands of other stones.  A true lucky stone!  Momma kept it safely in her hand after that.  At home I put it on a waxed rope and let Mark have it once again to wear around his neck.  It was not much later when he called out that he had lost the stone somewhere near the trampoline!  He had taken it off and held it in his hand while he was jumping but could not remember what he had done with it.  At that point Momma was very upset.  Irrational emotional distress.  You see, for Mark it was only a "lucky stone".  For Momma it represented a perfect mother/son day.  Pure love without any of life's intrusions.  No angst, no bitterness, no hurt feelings, no unhappy history or tension between us.  For Momma it was a great loss.  So much so that it brought me to tears.  Enough so, that Daddy felt the need to help in the search.  Wonder of wonders the stone was once again found.  A true "lucky stone"! Does it make any sense to you that I would rather have lost my diamond pendant? As much as I love my diamond necklace, it holds far less meaning and value to me!  So for now the "lucky stone" is safe on Momma's neck or in my jewelry box.  Some day I will give it back to Mark and I hope that he remembers...the day he loved his Momma with genuine sincerity.  Heart to heart.  Totally...without reservation.  Our "perfect day"!