Ahhhh…the beach. Or if you’re from where I’m from, you call it the SHORE. As in: we’re goin’ Down the Shore today.
There’s nothing finer than a pre-season, free-parking, not-too-hot-yet day down the shore, especially when it’s the first time your kids are seeing the ocean. My 6-year-old went to the shore once as an infant, but she didn’t really remember it. My 4-year-old had never been to the ocean at all.
Since it was their first time and all, we wanted to make sure we gave them the FULL Goin’-Down-The-Shore Experience, so the first thing we did was stop for Dunkin’ Donuts because that’s what you always do first on your way down the shore. Once we were sufficiently sugared up, we proceeded to find the most congested route that had the most expensive tolls and lots of elaborate road-construction areas to take us to the shore. This provided ample time for the girls to get in as many “Are We There Yet’s” as their little hearts desired.
Eventually we did make it down the shore, though, and the drive was worth every whine:
The sun was out, the surf was up, and the kids were overjoyed. My 4-year-old was a bit reticent at first, but pretty soon she did make it down to the water’s edge to test out various theories of temperature she’s got running through her head at any given moment, and sure enough:
Yep, that’s cold, but it’s also GREAT!
We spent maybe 10 minutes down by the surf, letting the girls romp. Pretty soon, they’d lost all their fear:
Here in the photo above, we see two powerful forces of nature about to collide. Who do you think is gonna win this one?
Yep, you guessed it: the ocean wins. At this point, my 4-year-old made the most important discovery of her little life so far: There are things out there more powerful than her. Believe me, she was NOT happy about it.
Here…go see Mommy.
Drenched and shocked into tears, she staggered back up to me where I gave her one of those hugs you give to your kids when they desperately need a hug, but are so dirty you don’t want to get any of it on you — you know, the distant-arm-reach-while-murmuring “you’re okay” pat on the back.
After that, we got her changed into some dry clothes and then went up to the boardwalk to purchase an incredibly expensive lunch, and my 4-year-old managed to hurt herself by sliding down through the seat gap in a picnic table onto the cement flooring underneath it. I had turned my back for less than a second to take a plate of hotdogs from my husband who was paying (through the teeth) for the food and down she went. Shocked again, and stuck under a picnic table, she sobbed helplessly and cried out: YOU WEREN’T WATCHING ME MOMMY!!! True, at that particular milisecond, I had not been watching, but of course, everyone else on the midway at that moment had seen every shocking detail.
I managed to get her out from underneath the picnic table and sat down with her in my lap only to discover that she’d fallen on someone’s half-eaten, dropped-into-the-dirt-below-the-table, giant piece of lollipop. It had stuck to her back and when I sat her down and hugged her, the filthy lollipop transferred itself from her back to my arm. So there I was, with sticky dirty candy stuck to me, my 4-year-old sobbing in my lap, the clothes I’d just changed her into completely ruined, and I thought to myself: Ah, now this is really being down-the-shore!
We managed to get cleaned up and found a place to sit and eat. And about an hour and four bathroom trips later, we were done eating. We went back down to the beach area and played in the sand for a while:
but the weather was turning colder, so we walked the boardwalk for a while and let my 6-year-old learn valuable lessons about losing money to the game vendors on the midway. We did finally find a game where everyone was a winner and the girls each won an inflatable Nemo. Pretty cool. We also saw this guy feeding seagulls:
Pretty cool.
After all that, it was time to go home. I don’t think we actually did talk about oceans or currents or shells or anything particularly academic, but it was a great day. We’ll be doing that again real soon!
Sounds like a good day.
I was particularly interested in Farmer John, who evidently left the back 40 to feed the gulls. Interesting beach wear!
I guess his other outfit — you know…the khaki shorts with white socks and sandals — was at the cleaners.
Still, he made an interesting picture.
Hey, oh my god, there you are! That is what you look like. I knew it, you look just like a friend of mine. Or a sister. I have been resisting, this whole blogging time, I have been resisting a long list of all our similarities. We were just all “down shore” at the same time, for one tiny thing. Our hard working husbands are also musicians, for another. Homeschoolers. Needed therapy to recover from toxic family, only to go to great lengths to move my children closer to toxic family, only to think – after its too late – hummm maybe not such a good choice…. We each love cats. We each survived high school smoking – let me guess – Marlboro Lights graduating to Drum in college? I’m sure there is more. I still love your blog. I am just so glad to see what you look like. I get so curious! I wish I could see what everyone on the DJ looks like.
: ) Katherine
Katherine,
Okay, that’s totally weird! Because, when I saw that picture of you on your blog, you look JUST LIKE this really great friend of mine who moved to Washington to be near her crazy family as well! Except your hair is longer than hers was the last time I saw her. Freaky Freaky!
As for the picture, yeah, that’s me. I used to be much more photogenic. Now, most pictures of me seem to showcase the alarming way in which my chins are multiplying. (sigh) Here comes 40! I’m embracing the gray hair, but the extra chins are Really Really Hard To Accept. But I put so many pictures of the family up, it didn’t seem fair to not put some of me up in the blog too. So, there I am.
My smoke brands were many and varied, but my longest runners were Merit in high school to Marlboro Mediums through college and up until last year.
We do seem to have these parallel lives right now. We even started blogging at the same time. How funny!
We need to start a thread at TDJ for member photos. It would be great to put faces to everyone!
– RM
Well, I thought we were similar too, until I read Katherine’s note. I do have a moonlighting rockin’ hubby, but I don’t smoke, I have blond hair and I haven’t had therapy, although I do think I NEED it!!! So she wins.
Anyway, back to your post. We are close to the beach and we call it going to the beach. Fall, winter and spring are our favorites times to go. It’s a big tourist attraction for our area, so the lack of tourist and traffic and tolls are a plus. Glad your girls enjoyed their first official shore visit.
~R
Thank you for your encouragement! Yes I did put a few books on sale and swap on the DJ. I have a few more, but haven’t took the time yet. As far as message boards the only board I know is the DJ. Yes, I’m message board illiterate.
kitten
We need to start a thread at TDJ for member photos. It would be great to put faces to everyone!
Yes! I agree! I have gotton close to few and it would be nice to get to know yall a little better.
We should get all our moonlightin’ rockin’ hubbies together and have them start a band.