Beach Day

Today we went to the beach. Just me and my four boys, with a friend and her three kids. I adore the beach and we go often. However this was the first time my husband wasn't there. We usually do a divide and conquer tactic in which he'll take a few kids in the water, while I watch the others on the beach. I was anxious to see what would happen with me on my own. I gave the kids all the water safety lectures and we were on our way.

My oldest (7) snorkeled. It wasn't too long ago that he was still terrified to put his face in the water. Thanks to a little growing up, and a session of swimming lessons, he is no longer afraid. There was more than one time I glanced his direction and saw him swimming along face in the water, and my heart skipped a beat. Only to remember that his snorkel was providing air. He was only in water up to his belly (per his worrying mommy's instructions) and he was having a blast! When I asked him  if he could see anything, he said, "Just the bottom." Yet, this did not keep him from snorkeling at least an hour of our beach time.

My six year old was impressive on the boogie board. There were just the right amount of waves that he could ride without making me bite my nails too much. Still I'd watch him, and ask "are you okay?" over and over to the point I think I annoyed him. He was so fun to watch, if just a little scary.

The two little ones mostly played in the sand, but at the end of the day even they got brave in the water. It's funny how the more daring and brave they became, the more high strung and anxious I was.

While they were having all of their fun, I was watching. I was constantly counting kids to make sure they were all safely accounted for. Thankfully, my friend was very helpful in keeping an eye on them, but I still felt the ultimate responsibility to keep them safe.

In stark contrast to my going to the beach alone fantasy, I only sat down once on this trip. That was to eat a sandwich. The rest of the lunch break was spent shooing off sea gulls. I only relaxed briefly, towards the end, when all the kids were digging a giant hole & filling it with water. Making a hot tub, they told me. Still, what it lacked in relaxation, it made up for in fun and I can't wait to go back!

Original post to Deep South Moms Blog.

Rebecca blogs at Life With Boys about her adventure in raising her four sons. Currently you will find posts about her recent family vacation & wondering if she'll survive the summer.