October 2019

October 2019

Monday, February 23, 2015

A Day at the Beach

Enough about warm, cozy blankets!  Let's talk white sand, blazing sun and okay, still freezing water.  That's two out of three in my book!  When I noticed that temperatures would reach close to 80 degrees this weekend, I felt a certain responsibility.  Sure, I had a full square of bulleted tasks on my desk calendar for Sunday, but we may not live in sunny Florida forever.  Gosh darn it, I'm going to soak in every minute of paradise that I can. Also, I did it for you, family and friends.  With you enduring such cold, how could I sit home and waste that kind of gorgeous weather?  You're welcome.

So, yes.  I ditched my list, shaved my legs and started reworking the plan.  While my husband got in a quick run, I readied my son and I, made a fast breakfast and got to work filling the cooler. A big part of beach days for me is the food.  I don't want to eat out, I want a picnic.  Oddly, as much as I enjoy junk food, for me beach fare should include fresh, cold fruit and crisp veggies, lunchmeat roll ups with yummy cheese, pretzels, raisins, you get the idea.  Baggie after baggie of surprises to slowly divvy up over the course of our stay.  So, yeah, I got chopping and bagging and cooling.  

When the hubby returned, he was put on beach toy and beach chair acquisition.  And, he did a fab job quickly tearing apart our somewhat still unpacked garage to find buckets, shovels, little boats, chairs, and the ever important cup holder for my hot coffee.  I know, but you're getting to know me, aren't you.  
Always.  Hot.  Coffee.

Wow, breakfast, lunch making, beach bag packing and car loading all before 9:30 AM!  It felt like vacation behavior.  We were off.  It took about an hour to get to St. Pete Beach, but it felt much faster.  Parking was readily available at 10:30 AM and we set up camp for the next few hours.  What memories we are making. Not yet for our son, but definitely for his momma and dad. The kid loves all things beach.  He loves the water.  He loves running over to our beach neighbors and throwing his ball on their towel uttering some sort of 2 year old invitation to play. He loves the picnic.  He loves playing in the sand and pretending it is snow. And we love him.

As always, I overshared photos of our day.  I'm kinda sorry for that, but not really.  I am so grateful for the happy days in life.  Bad days have come, and for sure they will come again. Knowing that, I will always rejoice in the joyful ones.  The ones that I hope to never forget.  The ones that make you stop and notice the sand in your teeth, the sun on your face, the warmth in your heart and the snuggly nap on the way home.





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