This is so not like me.
I still have to go to the store, wash some clothes, prepare some snacks, pack, print out the directions to our hotel, etc. Why do I do this to myself? I should have taken today off to do some of this running around.
Ugh.
Truth be told, I'm not all that excited about this trip. Unlike many people I know, the beach is not my favorite place on Earth. I don't dislike it, not at all. And whenever I've taken my sisters' kids to the beach, I have always truly enjoyed watching them play in the waves and on the sand, and playing with them.
But I always get too hot and want to sleep -- which you can't do with children running around; I can't swim, so that's a huge barrier; it's impossible to read on the beach with kids or even listen to your iPod (you have to have all senses on high alert). So I'm never really sure what to do with myself while there for hours on end.
I guess just play with the kiddos? Which is fine; this trip is for them, after all. But I always feel like I'm play-acting at being a beach-goer. It doesn't come natural.
Also, I always end up feeling a little helter-skelter keeping up with all the things you have to drag to the beach: towels, toys, coolers, snacks, sunglasses, sunscreen, something for the trash, something for the wet items, beach shoes, books, magazines, etc. And I am a total nervous Nelly, worried sick all the time that someone is going to drown. Even if we're just playing around the edge of the water, I still drive myself crazy worrying that a child will get stung by a jellyfish, bitten by some sea creature, cut his foot on a sea shell, etc. It all makes me a little bit crazy, if I'm just being perfectly honest.
And also, can I just say, sunscreen on black skin?? ANNOYING as hell. It never rubs in all the way, leaving us cloaked in a ghostly-pale-purple sheen. We look ridiculous. (I'm just sayin'...)
But I know that kids the world over LOVE the beach.
For months after I took my eldest nephew some years ago to the beach, he talked about it and talked about it. Once in the car -- maybe two years later -- he said to me, randomly and apropos of nothing, "Auntie Tika, remember that time you took us to the beach? That was the best. day. ever."
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| Me, my niece Aminah and my nephew Kalonji at the beach in 2007. These kids had never been happier! |
I just wish I had done something -- anything -- to prepare before now, so that the lead-up to the restful, relaxing beach trip wouldn't be quite so exhausting.
4 comments:
Another reason you should move to Oregon - the beach here is COLD! You absolutely wouldn't get hot and want to sleep :)
Also, I taught swim lessons for 6 years and I will teach you how to swim (and your babies!) It's settled - alert Lester that you are moving to Portland and I'll start looking for houses in our neighborhood :)
DUDE! I'm not sure I can read this. HA HAHA.
I totally read on the beach all the time with my kids. And I think the point of the beach is to just sit and do nothing. Relax. Watch the kids exhaust themselves.
I think you're not drinking enough. Cocktails improve the beach like 10,000%.
Some tips:
* even if you can't fully swim, you can wade out to get rinsed off. I rarely go fully in the water!
* the only sunscreen Jon and I use is Coppertone Sport 30 because it feels like a gel and not a white yucky lotion
* I grew up in FL and have taken my kids to the beach a lot. No one has ever been stung by a jellyfish or stepped on something and cut themselves. That is why it is funny when it happens on Friends!! Because it is rare.
I can't wait to hear how it lived up to expectations!
You know we're the same person, right? It's too hot. There's not much to do. I get sleepy and then can't sleep because it's too hot. (must be the darker skin) And now you're taking three kids with you? Holy crap, high alert is right.
I was really interested in Laura's post on what she does at the beach all day, because I was wondering what you can do for more than a couple of hours. It does seem that cocktails would help. I vote for that.
I realize I'm probably not making you feel any better. But you know, I'd go too. The kids will love it, and you'll get smiles and giggles. Therefore, at least at times, you will love it too.
I grew up in Florida and got stung by jellyfish quite a few times. (Maybe the difference between east coast and Gulf coast?) BUT, it's really, really rare. And even if it happens, it's not the end of the world. Seth got stung by one last year and it stung, but he didn't cry. We got some ointment from the lifeguard and in a few minutes, he was fine.
ANYWAY, I agree--preparing for vacation is stressful. But I totally agree with Laura--you can wade in the waves without "swimming," and just sitting, watching your kids, and watching other people on the beach is the best. Building sandcastles and burying each other in the sand will help pass the time. Go out in the morning (9 to 11), come in for lunch and naps, and then head back out in the late afternoon. You don't have to do "all day" on the beach. (And the mid-day sun is brutal anyway.) Just remember that to your kids, the whole package is the adventure--the hotel, the restaurants, the boardwalk (if there is one).
Email me and tell me where you're staying! Good luck packing, and just remember--there are CVS's and Targets and grocery stores everywhere. :-)
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