son of a beach - an evolutionary tale

You know what I love most about Beach Thursday? The beach (A+ if you guessed correctly). I love the smell of the salt water in the air and the sound of the surf lapping onto the shore and the feeling of the warm sand on my feet. The beach experience itself has evolved over the years (not my favorite). I have traded in the teeny bikini for a full coverage tankini (skirt optional) and the good old baby oil for SPF 9024. I now work on building sandcastles instead of my tan and the little voices of children laughing have replaced the cassette boombox that I used to drag around with me. My towels have gotten bigger and my time sitting down on them has gotten smaller. I can now carry 4 children complete with pails with shovels, lunch for a small army, a chair, first aid kit and my keys without dropping an item (or a kid). I can tolerate being kicked in the face with sand a dozen times and the seagulls stealing PB&Js out of my hand (they did thank me one day by dropping some good luck on my leg). I exchange harried looks with other moms and secretly curse at the delusional, self-absorbed teenaged lovebirds strolling past me. And often, a cold, wet, toddler wants to crawl into my lap to warm up and maybe pee, since I refuse to buy those stupid swimmer diapers (she loses 3 pounds when I take off the ocean filled cruiser). But you know what? It's still the beach and sometimes, even if it is only for a minute, I can close one eye and remember the days of too long ago when I went with only a towel and an attitude and I rotated every 20 minutes to make sure my color was even from front to back and I could poke fun at the frazzled mothers (much like me these days). It's been a great summer and I am looking forward to enjoying a few more Beach Thursdays after the big kids start school in a couple weeks, but it won't be the same. Sadly, I will miss the little stinkers and I look forward to next year's beach adventures. Although, it might be fun to sneak away by my lonesome some afternoon and throw rocks at the gulls. Anyone is welcome to join me...