spend more time at the beach

The little one actually filled his own bucket of water today! A long, slow summer of being very patient about not pushing going into the water worked! He wanted me to go in with him, but that’s fine. He’s still small and the ocean is big so I’d probably go whether he wanted me to or not.

Sadly, it’s time to retire this goal for the summer. The big one starts school tomorrow and my professional development days start then too, even though my students don’t come until next week.

Now it’s time to vacuum the sand out of my car. I’m sure that will reduce the weight by several pounds.

Have been there twice since my last entry. Patience has paid off—the little one happily let the water get his toes and even walked in up to his ankles without being coaxed.

It helps me clear my head, relax, all of my needs, simple, met. I can feel, and think. I can process. Life is simplified. I feel closer to God. I love the sun. The sand makes me feel fresh, and the waves clean. The warm water is an indescribable sensation….

I love the beach.

It rained here at home but luckily the beach is 30 miles away and was dry! My little one let me pour water on him—maybe he’ll get in there yet.

Made it there earlier this week, and will hopefully go again on Friday.

Built a sandcastle, complete with water-filled moat, together today. The trip was marred by two of the three of us leaving in tears, mainly due to exhaustion.

Another pleasant afternoon there. The little one likes burying his feet and my bigger one is discovering playing in the water (after 5 summers of being afraid of it!). Not an unkind word between them the entire time, despite crushed sand piles and such.

It was a very short visit, just over an hour, but the boys were happily digging in the sand for most of it. The weather turned out to be beautiful after all, too.

Doesn’t look like we’ll get there this week. Too many other activities and playdates (I hate that word!) going on, plus the weather for the end of the week looks showery. It’s a long drive to get there and have it rain on us. Too bad—we bought a beach umbrella this afternoon.

The boys got along so well at the beach this afternoon. They were both happy and relaxed there, digging and building in the sand. What a pleasant change from all of the bickering we’ve been having here at home.