A Day at the Beach
Recently my daughter arrived for the weekend with my 2 grandchildren, Anthony - 9 and Emily - 4. They are bright, inquisitive and full of energy. Sometimes I wonder if I will be able to keep up with all the jumping and running. Not quite as easy as it used to be, but they make me feel young again at least for a few days.
We decided to take them to Hampton Beach for the morning since it was so hot and humid. I assumed it would be extremely crowded so we left early to try and beat the rush. When we arrived we had to keep checking parking lots until we found a spot in one on the upper end of Hampton Beach. This made me a bit apprehensive as I assumed we would not find much of a spot on the beach to park our things while they played.
We had chairs, a cooler, towels, etc. so we asked the kids to help.They were great and carried what their size could handle. Much to my surprise when we got to the beach the upper end was fairly quiet with plenty of room. We settled in and then headed to the water - which actually was warm enough to venture in. Emily had her swim ring around her waist and was in no hurry to get in the ocean - the waves made her run away for the first 20 minutes. Eventually she braved the waves and held my hand as we jumped over the small waves coming in. She decided at some point that the swim ring was more of a nuisance than a help and discarded it by the chairs. Anthony had become so much braver than on past trips to the ocean. He found two young men tossing a football and they were kind enough to let him play for a few minutes. After that he joined his mother and sister in the waves and he actually went out far enough to ride in on the waves.
After we had our lunch the kids played in the water a bit longer. The tide was coming in and the beach was getting crowded so we gathered our things and headed back to the car. Once again they were very helpful with the not so fun part of going to the beach. We cleaned them up, got in the car and made our journey home back to the lake for more fun.
The weather was beautiful, the ocean was inviting, the kids had a blast and so did their mother. Could not ask for more than this as it is what life is all about - family. Every one of these moments is to be cherished and planted permanently into our memories.
We decided to take them to Hampton Beach for the morning since it was so hot and humid. I assumed it would be extremely crowded so we left early to try and beat the rush. When we arrived we had to keep checking parking lots until we found a spot in one on the upper end of Hampton Beach. This made me a bit apprehensive as I assumed we would not find much of a spot on the beach to park our things while they played.
We had chairs, a cooler, towels, etc. so we asked the kids to help.They were great and carried what their size could handle. Much to my surprise when we got to the beach the upper end was fairly quiet with plenty of room. We settled in and then headed to the water - which actually was warm enough to venture in. Emily had her swim ring around her waist and was in no hurry to get in the ocean - the waves made her run away for the first 20 minutes. Eventually she braved the waves and held my hand as we jumped over the small waves coming in. She decided at some point that the swim ring was more of a nuisance than a help and discarded it by the chairs. Anthony had become so much braver than on past trips to the ocean. He found two young men tossing a football and they were kind enough to let him play for a few minutes. After that he joined his mother and sister in the waves and he actually went out far enough to ride in on the waves.
After we had our lunch the kids played in the water a bit longer. The tide was coming in and the beach was getting crowded so we gathered our things and headed back to the car. Once again they were very helpful with the not so fun part of going to the beach. We cleaned them up, got in the car and made our journey home back to the lake for more fun.
The weather was beautiful, the ocean was inviting, the kids had a blast and so did their mother. Could not ask for more than this as it is what life is all about - family. Every one of these moments is to be cherished and planted permanently into our memories.
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