Making memories (The Beach, 2012)

During our first fourteen years together, Paul and I walked the beach every summer, smiling over the young families playing all around us.  What’s not to love about sand buckets, floppy sun hats, and squeals of delight?  We couldn’t wait until it was our turn to chase our own little ones around.

Well, little did we know…those parents were exhausted.  Happy, sure…but exhausted.  They had been up since the crack of dawn (6 a.m. perhaps?), prepared/served/cleaned up breakfast, corralled wiggly bodies into bathing suits, slathered on sunscreen over cries of protest, packed snacks/drinks/towels/sand toys/hats/sunglasses/camera, trekked out to the beach, and set up camp for the morning.  After several hours of play and active drowning prevention in the hot sun, they would re-pack all of the items listed above, rinse off a stunning amount of sand, return to their accommodations, bathe the still wiggly (and now overtired) bodies, re-dress everybody in clean clothes, prepare/serve/clean up lunch, and lay down those little ones for naps.  And after nap?  They would do it all over again.

Now we know why people are on the beach insanely early in the morning. Now we know why “the beach” includes large numbers of putt-putt courses, restaurants, shops, themed dinner theatres, and other forms of entertainment. I used to think all you needed was the ocean and a good book.  Well, now we know differently.

As a good friend reminded me, it’s a lot of work, but we are investing in the making of memories.  The effort paid off immediately as we watched the boys digging in the sand and chasing the waves.  The long term rewards will be reaped over time as we build family traditions and reminisce over shared memories.

Please indulge me in the large number of pictures.  We took hundreds, and I couldn’t bear to make any more cuts than I already did!

Ryan 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Miles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brothers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family

 

26 weeks

 

With Nana Kay

 

 

Ready, Set…

 

Go!

 

 

 

 

Sunset as seen from our balcony

 

Farewell, Cherry Grove, until next year!