This blustery December morning being a Monday and so, as part of my neurotic exercise regimen, a biking day, I donned several layers and went on my usual jaunt around the Oceanside Harbor and along the Strand. As I approached the Pier, the sun suddenly shone through. I stopped to take off the outermost of my five tops, sip some water and enjoy the always-spectacular ocean view.

I was privileged to watch an unexpected tableau of love unfold. A family sedan pulled into the parking lot. Out of it emerged two men in their early 30s. One removed a stroller from the trunk and deftly assembled it while the other disentangled an infant from its carseat and placed it in the waiting stroller. The first man gently draped a cuddly material over the infant and the two smiled lovingly at their tiny treasure.

Out of the blue, one man swept his partner into a Fred Astaire-like, swooping embrace and planted a huge kiss on his lips. Then, arm in arm, each with their free hand on the stroller, they took off to enjoy their wintry walk by the beach.

What serendipity to be an onlooker for whom the curtain parted to reveal such a joyous moment. A single parent myself, I have observed families in which parents love their children but not each other. I have even known parents who do not love their children.

To witness parents who exuberantly love each other and their child was so uplifting that I smiled all the way home.