We are leaving for our family beach vacation tomorrow.
I can’t wait. I enjoy taking my children to the beach and sharing the many things I love about going to the ocean for vacation…the sand…the sun…the waves…the seagulls…the boardwalk…etc. Bito isn’t wildly in love with the beach the way I am–it’s a bit of sensory overload for him, but it’s gotten better each time we’ve taken him. Cupcake is happy chasing gulls and playing with whomever will play with her in the sand or the waves. And I can’t wait to see the look on BabyMuffin’s face the first time he touches the sand!
But I can’t help but remember how my beach vacations used to be before kids, and even before The Husband. Right out of college, I was a shareholder in a beach house, and really made that share work for me. I spent many weekends at the house with other young professionals. We made meals together, played boardgames, sunned on the sand, drank margaritas at sunset, walked the boardwalk at night, etc. Since I had the summers off, I was also able to stay on weekdays when the house was emptier and the town was calmer…sleeping late, eating bad-for-you beach food, spending time with just a couple of friends and just being lazy.
Four summers of being a shareholder gave me many memories and cemented my closest friendships. Then the beach house we rented was sold, and the new owner didn’t want to rent it out anymore. The new house that the group found didn’t have the right layout for many people to share. And since The Husband and I were engaged, we weren’t sure we wanted to continue being shareholders. Thus ended my carefree summers practically living at the beach.
Fortunately, as former shareholders, we have the option to exclusively rent the house for certain weeks during the summer. We’ve chosen to do this the past three summers in order to take our kids to the beach that I love so much. That’s where we’re headed tomorrow.
It’s not quite the same, of course…is anything once you have kids? Still, I am glad to introduce my children to the beach and to share with them how it’s been a huge part of my life…from the time I was little and going on beach vacations with their grandparents to when I was a young single gal living it up.
Of course I won’t be sharing all the details. Some things they’ll have to discover for themselves.
