Week 21-22
The rest of us cleaned and dealt with difficult situations and tried not to be too tired or grouchy. One day I remember feeling particularly overwhelmed with all of these problems that needed to be solved and feeling unable to solve them. But one day we did go to the pool with some friends for the entire day and it was super fun. We also packed and got groceries and prepared for our trip.
Saturday we got up and headed out and we were all so excited. We look forward to our beach trip every year but this year in particular since it will probably be our only trip all year. We were supposed to go alone but with everything else getting cancelled, we were able to talk the Wiests into going with us too and it was so fun. We had a good drive down and made pretty good time. We stopped at the grocery store and shoved the food in then went to the house. It was a great house and perfect for our needs. It had a great view of the ocean and super easy and close access to the beach. I liked everything about it except our bed/pillows but usually we're so tired even that it doesn't matter much. We unpacked and then took a walk down to the beach. It was warm and beautiful and I may have cried a bit at how happy I was to be there. After looking forward to it for months and months, it was finally happening. All the kids ended up getting wet and sandy (Curtis was practically swimming in his clothes he went so far in) and then we went back, had dinner and got them all to bed.
Sunday we checked into our church zoom meetings then had a family meeting too. We made it to the beach by about noon and it was calm and amazing for the little kids. A thunderstorm scared us away but then it never really reached us so while the little kids stayed and watched a movie with Leisa, the rest of us went back and Josh and Sam were boogie boarding like little kids. They were having so much fun and Lily and Curtis too. It was a fun time. We had dinner, put the kids in bed and played games until late.
Monday we spent all day at the beach and everyone was swimming and playing in the sand and boogie boarding. What I love about the beach is that there is always something to do. Swim, look for shells, play in the sand in lots of different ways, take a walk, boogie board, Josh went out on his paddle board a lot and even successfully surfed (which was amazing after 8 years of trying!), sit and relax and watch the waves, catch crabs, sit in the sand where the waves come up and play in the wet sand, play catch, jump the waves or even just float. The kids made sand castles, shell houses and CIA fortresses and played endless imaginative games but we also did a lot of swimming. Being in the waves is my favorite and it was super calm Sunday and Monday then Tuesday we started to get a few more waves. Wednesday the waves were great, Thursday they were crazy and Friday they were perfect.
So Monday night we had a fun family night where the kids acted out a scripture story and then we ate ice cream. We ate a lot of ice cream; in fact we had it every single night. Tuesday we spent all day at the beach again and it was a beautiful day. The kids were done by about 3:30 but Leisa and I stayed and talked for another two hours just the two of us.
Wednesday we went to Beaufort, the cute little coastal town we always visit. We went to a few shops, got some fudge, and sat by the water and enjoyed the boats coming in and going out for awhile. We also popped into a few beach stores for a new boogie board, souvineers and t-shirts. As soon as we got back we went to the beach for a few hours before we had a late dinner and of course, ice cream.
Thursday was my birthday and turning 40 might require a separate post but it was a nice day. The Wiests made a delicious breakfast and had decorated with a happy birthday sign all the kids had colored and streamers on my door and on my chair at the table. I got some cute cards from the Wiest girls and then we went to the beach. The weather was uncooperative though and after about two hours it started raining. It passed quickly so we stayed but then it started raining again and this time the whole sky was gray and the rain hurt. The kids kind of freaked out so we went home, which was disappointing because all I had wanted for my birthday was to spend all day at the beach, but the waves were crazy big and strong that day so the kids weren't going in the water anyway and even I only lasted about 20 minutes before I was pretty tired. So we went back and it rained all afternoon. We played games and talked and had dinner, then cake and presents. I was really touched by all the texts and messages I got from friends and the cards and gifts too. The kids painted shells for me and wrote sweet things on them (Lily had thought ahead and brought the paint-such a sweetie) and Josh acted his gift out charade style. He is going to take me boating for a day! We're going to rent a boat and go tubing on a lake some Saturday in September and I am super excited! All in all, it was a fun day and I really appreciated the Wiests and Josh and the kids trying to make it such a special day. I'm lucky to have such great friends and family and felt very blessed that day.
Friday was the perfect day. We had a quick breakfast so we could get to the beach as soon as possible, which for us was about 10am. We literally spent eight plus hours at the beach and everyone was happy and had so much fun all day. The weather was beautiful and the waves were perfect and nobody had any problems with goggles or swim suits (Curtis lost his in a wave on Thursday when it was rough so we made our yearly donation to the goggle gods). The boogie boarding and paddle surfing were amazing and I made my annual sand turtle sculpture and took my kids pictures with their names in the sand. It was such a fun day. At first I was so annoyed because the red flag was flying with means don't get in the water because the likelihood of rip currents was higher than normal. It felt just like covid-19 hit me in the face again. The risk assessment and concern about doing something normal and fun was so frustrating because up to this point we had been emotionally free and unconcerned with life's challenges and this seemed to slap me in the face. As it turned out the waves were perfect and so we ended up swimming and just being more careful and aware and when we took Emma and Brandon out we didn't let go of their life jackets. It ended up being totally fine, for which I am grateful, and I decided I appreciated the warning so that we could be more vigilant but glad it didn't ruin our day. We packed up about 6:30, went home to shower and rinse everything off and started getting packed up. We still played games that night (we played a different game every night, a lot of card games, and it was so fun) and then got to bed at a reasonable time.
Yesterday we packed up and headed out and had a pretty good drive home. There was some rain and the kids were tired and a bit short with each other but we made it home by 4pm and got unpacked and things put away. We had eggs for dinner and then got everyone to bed early because we were all pretty tired and a bit sad that our vacation was over, and for good reason. Today we were slammed with water issues in our basement and Josh got completely overwhelmed with church stuff, work stuff and then all this house stuff we have to deal with. A disappointing and difficult re-entry into real life but so it goes.
Our vacation was a very restorative time for me and helped calm my soul and give me strength to face this upcoming school year. Part of me was wondering why if I am so happy at the beach that I live here and not at a beach house? Some day!
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