Good morning everyone. Yesterday a very good, long-time friend and I took my giorls out to spend the day at the Delaware Beach yesterday. After spending the day there, neither, he nor I realized how tense and stressed out we both were. WIth the girls only being 6 and 9, and the both of them loving to be in any body of water, we spent most of the time battling wave after wave.
In the beginning, the both of us were struggling and very nervous. A reaction to the girls not having been to the beach since last summer. But once we got them comfortable, they began to enjoy themselves. As time passed on, they grew more confindent and comfortable with Mother Nature's brutality (crashing waves hitting them at full force). Initially we had them out where their feet couldn't touch the ground. They were both just floating and kicking along. Then they wanted to battle the waves by themselves. So we had them sit about a few feet from where the waves would crash against the sand. The waves pushed and pulled them in every which direction. They had a blast. The feeling of being independent enough to do things on their own, and also having the comfort of the adults being not too far away from them, just in case anything bad happened or if they couldn't handle the intensity.
We stayed in the water for several hours. For me, keeping in mind that I just had physical therapy on both of my knees that very same morning (8 am - 10 am). Being non-weight bearing or weightless in the ocean was the most wonderful feeling. Between the sand and the salt in the water, my skin had been rubbed soft soft, I almost couldn't believe what I was feeling. My friend had a wound on his foot from when he accidently hit it against someting in the middle of the night. He could not see the enitre wound (being in between his last 2 toes). Though he cared for it the best he could, it still got infected. So he was put on some pretty strong antibiotics. When he first went into the water, of course there was, what he described as, the initial searing pain. Then after about 5 minutes he said the pain went from a nail gun set to insane to a misquito bite. :0)
After we rinsed all the toys and shoes off and packed up, we went straight to the shower/bath houses. I took the girls in the shower with me and the 3 of us were all shocked at where the sand had finally decided to settle in, in our swim suits and body parts. I brushed their hair, for what seemed liked, an eternity. A lot of the sand just wouldn't come out! But that is no different from any other year. :0) So we rinsed as much as possible. Got out, dried off and dressed. Then it was his turn. The girls and I began the walk back to the car to get organized and buckeled in. By the time we arrainged everything, Terence was already on his way back to the car. What took him no more than 10-15 minutes had taken us almost over an hour.
We hopped into the car, set the GPSa to a near-by resturant and had some of the best sea food we have ever had! He had a soft shelled crab sandwhich and I had Sea Bass for the very first time. Kristen (9 yrs old) had the fried butterfly shrimp and Gabby (6 yrs old) had the cheeseburger. All of these meals came with 2 sides and the portions (along with what came on the plate) we so hugh, we had to take a good amount home with us. Once I find the receipt, I will post the name of the place for everyone. Their prices were very reasonable and the menu was greatly varied. The service was excellent! By the time we had eaten our fill, we were all so relaxed that Gabby had fallen asleep at the table. This is something that neith of the girls had done since they were out of the toddler phase of life! We laughed so hard!
The drive back was so peacefulvery peaceful. We took small and back roads to get home. Just so that we didn't have to deal with the highway and all its draingin negative energy. Terence and I talked and laughed while the girls snuggled down under their beach towels, with their windows halfway open to enjoy the breeze. I stayed awake for most of the drive. The last thing I remembered was that we had about 20 minutes until we got home. The next thing I remember was Terence standing on the passenger side of the car waking me up. The girls had already gone into the house and he had taken most of what we needed out of the car. I was the last one to get up the stairs. My legs were wobbly and we were in no rush. By the time I got upstairs and to the girls' room to kiss them good night, Gabby had already went back to sleep and Kristen was giving the cat some fresh food and water before she got into bed.
I had stolen a kiss from Gabby and tucked Kris into bed. Terence and I had just laid in bed and watched television. Still talking and laughing. The next thing I know, I am waking up this morning at 7 am. Everyone else is still sound asleep. So I am taking this quite time and just enjoying it as much as possible. Coffee and writing in my blog. And I can't stop smiling.