Life's a Beach

I love the beach.  I mean really, really love the beach.  I love the sand, the smell of the water, the sun shining down.  I like to walk along the edge of the water and let the waves tickle my toes.  I love to sit on a blanket and watch the tide go in and out.  It's peaceful.  It's calm.  It's beautiful.

I love taking the kids to the beach.  While they still need supervision, it's pretty much three hours or so that I can relax without having to tell them not to run, to fight, not to be too loud.  They get to "be" and I get a break.  So, with J wanting to go on an organized bike ride today, I decided to pack the kids up and go to the beach.  We made a lunch, packed some snacks and extra water, grabbed the sand toys are we were off.  Early, too.  We left the house by 8:45AM.  It's about a 30 minute drive, and just as I was about to pull my hair out from hearing Little A ask, "are we there yet?" we arrived!  The beach parking lot was full, so we had  to park about two blocks away.  I was mentally thinking "This is not a big deal now, but trying to get all this stuff plus three tired kids back to the car is not going to be fun."  We set up camp, sprayed on the sunscreen, and they were off.  There were a few tiffs and tats, but most of all it was a wonderful three hours.  They took breaks as needed, made sure that I was as full of sand as possible, and generally had a good time wearing themselves out.  The walk back to the car was as painful as I had predicted, but I kept enticing them with the promise of cold Capri-Suns that I had left in a cooler in the car.  It helped, but not much.

The ride home was uneventful as they were tired and pretty much just drank their juice and listened to music.  A quick dip in the tub for everyone, and Little A was already in his bed waiting for me to tuck him in for a nap before I even got there!  Big A and L took their iPads into their rooms, and I smiled as I realized that I had earned myself at least another 2 hours of peace.  I showered myself, pulled on comfy pajamas, and settled in for a few episodes of "ArmyWives" on Netflix.

Today was a good day, and I wanted to make sure I blogged about it for a few reasons.  First, few days are few and far between lately, and I need something to remind myself that they are possible for those times when it is looking down.  Second, while this blog is mainly focused on my struggles with depression, I want others to know that good day do happen!  And third, I want to remember as many of these special moments with my kids as possible.  They are growing fast, and I know that the time will come soon when they don't want to be at the beach with me, no matter how fabulous it is.