Beach Week
I know I've said this before but I really love the beach. I especially love it when the ocean is warm, has lots of waves and the sand is soft. My family went to Pine Knoll Shores, NC last week and it was an amazing week. It was the first time my family has ever gone on vacation by ourselves for a whole week. We've done weekends but any other vacation we've taken has included extended family or friends. I was a bit nervous about having to do all of the work myself and that it might be a bit lonely but we really had a great week.
Pretty much every day we would sleep in, have breakfast then head to the beach for 6+ hours before heading back and taking showers, making dinner and watching a Disney movie. It was seriously perfect. One morning we did some shopping at the surf shops, walked around the cute little town of Beaufort where we got fudge and had a seafood lunch and then we headed to the beach for the afternoon/evening. Another morning we did parasailing and another morning we went to the aquarium, but other than that, we were at the beach. The place we stayed even had a pool but Josh only took the kids once.
I thought about it a lot while I was sitting there watching the ocean waves, trying to figure out what it is that I love about it so much. I think the major reason is that I feel nine years old again whenever I am there. All of the cares of adulthood pretty much slip away and I can play in the sand and jump the waves and take walks and look for shells and hunt for crabs, just like I did when I was a kid. It is the one place I really love to play with my kids and it makes me seriously happy that each of them is learning the love the beach like I do. They weren't ever ready to leave, even after having been there sometimes for 7 or 8 hours. I love how they can play with each other building huge sand compounds and shell gardens or by themselves digging, running from the waves and swimming in them. There were many times all six of us were out in the water talking and laughing as we jumped over and dove under waves. Curtis rode lots of waves, Lily was almost always out swimming, Emma made her own aquarium one day out of buckets of water and animal bath toys that we were all invited to see, and Brandon always seemed to be digging or playing with trucks or boats. They were able to be endlessly busy without any help from me and it was amazing. I think that is what allows me to relax and love playing with them, along with the fact that I actually love playing at the beach and would even without them. It is fun to feel like a kid again.
I also feel very close to God when I'm at the beach. I love how looking out over the ocean you can't see how far it goes. The beauty, energy and strength of the ocean is mesmerizing and inspiring. I love how the waves just keep coming and yet they are all different. It is so fun to watch the pelicans dive into the water to catch fish and the sandpipers running from waves as they peck into the sand for food. It makes me want to pray sitting on a quiet beach with nothing in front of me but sand, ocean and sky and it brings my soul peace.
I read two good books last week; the first time on a vacation I've actually had time to read! That was pretty fun. We had perfect weather, there was hardly anyone on the beach I think because we went so late in the summer and a lot of schools had already started and the house we stayed in was cute and perfect for us. No one was sick (like last year) and I would say our only disappointment was the restaurant where we went for our seafood lunch didn't have hush puppies. I am so grateful we got to go and have such a wonderful experience as a family. We really had few complaints and disagreements and though I was certainly ready to have some alone time by the time we got back, it was really good family time. Just another reason I love the beach! It is such a great place for the whole family!
Pretty much every day we would sleep in, have breakfast then head to the beach for 6+ hours before heading back and taking showers, making dinner and watching a Disney movie. It was seriously perfect. One morning we did some shopping at the surf shops, walked around the cute little town of Beaufort where we got fudge and had a seafood lunch and then we headed to the beach for the afternoon/evening. Another morning we did parasailing and another morning we went to the aquarium, but other than that, we were at the beach. The place we stayed even had a pool but Josh only took the kids once.
I thought about it a lot while I was sitting there watching the ocean waves, trying to figure out what it is that I love about it so much. I think the major reason is that I feel nine years old again whenever I am there. All of the cares of adulthood pretty much slip away and I can play in the sand and jump the waves and take walks and look for shells and hunt for crabs, just like I did when I was a kid. It is the one place I really love to play with my kids and it makes me seriously happy that each of them is learning the love the beach like I do. They weren't ever ready to leave, even after having been there sometimes for 7 or 8 hours. I love how they can play with each other building huge sand compounds and shell gardens or by themselves digging, running from the waves and swimming in them. There were many times all six of us were out in the water talking and laughing as we jumped over and dove under waves. Curtis rode lots of waves, Lily was almost always out swimming, Emma made her own aquarium one day out of buckets of water and animal bath toys that we were all invited to see, and Brandon always seemed to be digging or playing with trucks or boats. They were able to be endlessly busy without any help from me and it was amazing. I think that is what allows me to relax and love playing with them, along with the fact that I actually love playing at the beach and would even without them. It is fun to feel like a kid again.
I also feel very close to God when I'm at the beach. I love how looking out over the ocean you can't see how far it goes. The beauty, energy and strength of the ocean is mesmerizing and inspiring. I love how the waves just keep coming and yet they are all different. It is so fun to watch the pelicans dive into the water to catch fish and the sandpipers running from waves as they peck into the sand for food. It makes me want to pray sitting on a quiet beach with nothing in front of me but sand, ocean and sky and it brings my soul peace.I read two good books last week; the first time on a vacation I've actually had time to read! That was pretty fun. We had perfect weather, there was hardly anyone on the beach I think because we went so late in the summer and a lot of schools had already started and the house we stayed in was cute and perfect for us. No one was sick (like last year) and I would say our only disappointment was the restaurant where we went for our seafood lunch didn't have hush puppies. I am so grateful we got to go and have such a wonderful experience as a family. We really had few complaints and disagreements and though I was certainly ready to have some alone time by the time we got back, it was really good family time. Just another reason I love the beach! It is such a great place for the whole family!
Comments
Post a Comment