Beachin'!

 There is something about the water that calms my soul. The minute I get around it my shoulders relax and I am at peace. When I get to the beach though, it's far more than that: My spirit rises, sense of freedom soars and there's an indescribable feeling of giddiness and love.  I was more than excited to share this feeling with Cameron. I wanted to light a spark of memories for him.  I wanted him to find his own love for the beach, because these are the memories that we're really good at.

I'm not sure what I was expecting of his first trip to the beach; he is our kid after all. To say he was fearless, is an understatement.  He was independent and he embraced it even more than I could have ever expected.  He didn't even a flinch at the waves, or make a bitter face at his first mouthful of salt water. I was so proud!

Because I grew up in California, I have lots of memories of the beach but it was never an every day occurrence. Trips were still special and typically planned in advance. I have memories of the elders in my family always saying that they liked taking the kids to the beach because there's so much to do without really doing anything at all. When my sisters were little, my Mom used to say that we could pack lunches, a towel and a cooler of drinks, go to the beach all day and never once was there an "I'm bored" or "I'm ready to go" before it was time to go.  Everyone always left sun-kissed and happy.  Kids always slept better that night then they had since the last time we were at the beach and the memories of sand castles, chasing waves and searching for sea shells lasted far longer than that one ride at Disneyland. 

Tim, on the other hand spent far more time on the lake growing up, and didn't always love the idea of sand in your cracks, but he's been a good sport when I need my fix and allows me to convert him into a beach person a couple times a year.

As much as I like remembering the good things, I have to add that there were a couple of speed bumps along the way. This is A Benton World after all, and it wouldn't be a story if I wasn't honest about our luck. 

 *Our old dog Tucker ran away from home for a couple days while we were out of town, but I'm happy to report he's home and resting in time out now. 

*The beginning of what looked like pink eye started to show up on our first morning at the beach, but luckily we were able to nix it quickly, and the sea air did wonders for it too!

*The beach without an umbrella in your drink isn't exactly the same...but nugget basked in the salty air with me and soaked it all in!

Thanks Mr. Beach for giving my boy a wonderful first experience!  Those speed bumps are nothing compared to Cameron's laughter and excitement.

I'll be cherishing these memories until next time...