By the Sea

Why is my best nap by the sea?  I think it is the beach music.

Is it the sound of the waves? There's something just so calming about the gentle pounding of the water reaching the sand.

Children chasing each other? The delight children find in building sandcastles is just one of the most beautiful sounds on the beach.

The lifeguard whistle?  Keeping us safe during the day, and a whistle to say good night when their day ends.  There is such a peaceful calm resting on the beach when the summer sun begins to fade.

The seagulls chatting?  Trying to search beach blankets and bags to see who may have left a little piece of something for them.

Yes, I think it is all of the beach music.  I'm not one to bring my music to the beach.  I so enjoy the music I hear there already.  

Boots.  Parka.  Hat.  Gloves.  Yes, this is how I dress to walk my winter beach during the ever changing month of March here in the Northeast.

Walking up my favorite beach path, I am surprised at how calm the wind appears to be.  As I reach the open beach, however, I am confronted by a sea breeze that although chilly this time of year, will bring a welcome relief during the summer.  

The beach is basically open.  Me. And the birds.  The remnant truck tracks of a fisherman spending his time by the water.  

The beach changes so much in the winter.  All of our storms have rearranged our beach and given us a very large sandbar that all of the children will enjoy investigating come summer.  When our children were small, they loved the little ponds that our sandbars created.  It was like their own private lake.

The storms also deliver some lovely shells to our shores.  I am always amazed when I find one of my shells.  It's almost like it was placed there for me to find.  Resting among all the other shells, I wonder how someone passed this one up! 

There's just something about the winter beach.  Maybe it's the solitude.  Maybe it's the anticipation of warm weather to come.  Maybe it's the gifts from the sea I collect as I walk.   

As I tighten my parka hood for the windy walk back to my favorite beach path, I feel the warmth of the bright sun and look forward to the summer days that will be spent here on my favorite beach.

I spend countless time roaming my favorite beach as often as I can.  It is rare that I leave this spot without at least one shell or other memento from my visit.  

We all have a favorite shell and I am always on the hunt for mine.  The moon shell is mine.  Big, little, I love them all.  I don't mind if the bottom half of the shell is missing when I reach down to scoop it up . . . just makes me think of the journey this shell may have taken to arrive here in New Jersey. 

When my children were little, they were always in search of the largest clam shell they could find.  We would take a few back to the house and let their creative juices flow with some paint.  Waterproof, of course.  Yes, after our week's vacation, we would pack them up to bring back home.  Nothing like a painted shell to a five-year old as a remembrance of the beach.  Definitely lasts longer than the always asked for hermit crab.

My children are grown now, but they do keep their eyes out for shells.  When they are on the beach with me and happen upon a shell they know I would love, they still bring it to me silently and drop it in my beach bag. 

I fill my planters with my beach finds, so there is always room for more.  Or I just go get another planter!

I originally wrote this blog post in 2010 . . . amazingly to me, that was 7 years ago.  We buried my dear "father-in-law" yesterday.  His name is in quotes because although that was his official title, to me he was Dad.  We will miss him terribly, but will be forever grateful and blessed to have had this journey through life with him.  

Our table has grown. My son (in college in my earlier post) and "daughter-in-law" are hosting, and all I have to do is make the stuffing.  Although, I do not have my Mom's exact recipe, I do remember most of it, but will add my own twist and hopefully, this will become our new favorite.

I hope that your Thanksgiving brings you together with those you love.  And don't forget to wear your stretchy pants!

I have always enjoyed our Thanksgiving together.

I have to admit, as our children grew and went off to college, having them home for Thanksgiving break was, well, a blessing! Never mind the laundry they brought home and the fact they slept half the day away, it is wonderful to have our house noisy again. With our son still away at college, we eagerly awaited Thanksgiving break.

Our daughter has become a better cook than I am and is making most of the meal today. She is using ingredients that need to be explained to me! She loves to experiment and we love to try everything! The chocolate chip cookies she made from a Martha Stewart recipe were hands-down the best I ever tasted!

Displayed on our Thanksgiving table since my son was in 5th grade is a simple CCD project . . . a 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper sitting in a frame is what Thanksgiving meant to him at that time . . . you know the project where you have to come up with a word for each letter in Thanksgiving . . . from his "H" word (helping others) to "I" (I love my family) . . . we smile whenever we read it. My son, who thought the role of a writing project at that time was to see who finished first, well he actually spent some of his 9 year old mind on this project.

My Mom is disabled and due to health reasons, will not be able to join us here for our Thanksgiving tradition. So we have decided to create a "moveable feast" . . . we will bring the cooked turkey, my daughter's new found mashed potato recipe, the dinnerware, silverware and napkins to her and my Dad. I have just packed up my son's 5th grade CCD project, because, well, it just wouldn't be the same without that on the table.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We recently had young families come to the beach to visit and I simply smiled to myself while I watched them trudge through the sand laden down with the same things I used to bring to the beach.  So many memories came flooding back.

Yes, when my children were little, we lugged beach bags filled with different sized pails, shovels, trucks, balls and sand castle molds.  Not to mention beach umbrellas, enough snacks to last for days and yes, those miniature chairs our children never sat in.  All of this way before the beach buggy carts were a staple on the beach.

Most of the varying sizes of pails and shovels went right back into our beach bags as we left the beach.  Our children chose their one favorite pail and shovel to use all day long.  And the miniature chairs . . . never to be brought back to the beach again.  Not to mention the sand castle molds.  Seashells and seaweed adorned their creations.

Now it's every person for themselves.  My beach bag has my towel, my book, sunglasses and one water.  My now adult children bring what makes them happy whether it's a book, football or a bocci ball set.  

And, yes, when the grandchildren arrive, we will come full circle.  My beach bag will be filled with countless sand toys.  And, yes, I will be buying more of those miniature chairs.