21 September 2010

The Beach

OR

WHY I WAS AWOL FOR A BUNCH OF DAYS


The ocean is such a visceral part of humanity. The sound of the waves, the salt air, the grit is something every human should feel during their lives. I can remember visiting North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, every summer of my childhood. I had happy memories until the dysfunction of my mother's family came to light and those early sights became somehow tainted.

It was because of this that I knew I had to replace my not-quite-right remembrances with new ones. Memories filled with giggles, squeals, laughs, and chatter. Last week, we made introductions. Atlantic Ocean, meet Miss-Miss, Bubba, and J-man. Miss-Miss, Bubba, and J-man, meet the primordial soup from whence you came.




With initial introductions over, we got down to the nitty-gritty.


I do believe that's the first time I've ever seen a sand angel, much less two of them.


The Ty-man, who hates sand, who would rather sit pool-side, made sand castles every day. God, how I love that man.


You can't tell by this picture but Miss-Miss should be on a Coppertone ad. If you even just say the word "sun" she gets as brown as chocolate milk.


And who can say no to beach-side ice cream with a Nana photobomb?


There were lots of beautiful beach sunsets.


And "Real, Live, Dead Fish" on sale at the Gay Dolphin.


Roasted marshmallows.


And twins who turned five years old. Sixty months. 1,826 days. 43,824 hours. 2,629,440 minutes. 157,766,400 seconds. Times two. I can't believe they're half a decade old.

Thank goodness for precious memories.

12 comments:

Kim - Mommycosm said...

That's a GREAT reason to go AWOL :) Awesome pictures.

I could never live too far inland. My husband jokes that I have a salt deficiency problem. I must be within driving distance to salt in the air or I get a little antsy.

Grant said...

I love the beach! Except for the sand, surf, ocean breezes, salt, fish-flavored water, sunlight, and chances of death by giant squid, there's nowhere else I'd rather be. No, wait, I'm thinking about being home under the A/C playing a video game with a cold beer in my hand. I hate the beach. But I'm glad you guys had fun.

Megan said...

Look how beautiful they are!

Glad you had a wonderful time. Love the beach!

sybil law said...

Love it!!
Miss Miss is gonna be TROUBLE when she gets older, those curls and that tan body! Good thing there are two brothers to kick some butt! :)

Michael from dadcation.com said...

awesome! i don't particularly love the beach, but i manage to have fun when i go there regardless. glad y'all got to get away a bit.

Unknown said...

Ah, the sea, the sea, the deep blue sea.

Great reason to be AWOL. But it's nice to have you back.

Your kids are cute. Just like their Mom. Can't quite make out what J-Man looks like - so I'll just have to take it on faith.

Lisa said...

It looks like you had a great time. I also have wonderful beach memories. Glad you're back with us, though.

Patois42 said...

What a delight for everyone! (Well, maybe except for the Ty-man and his sand thing.)

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

Kim - I've told Ty-man that, somehow, someway, our retirement will be spent on the shore. Be it in a house or a tent.

Grant - Dude. You crack my shit UP! :)

Finn - Thanks, hon!

Sybil Law - Oh, she is going to be total trouble. I'm thinking of locking her up until she's 60.

Muskrat - Thanks!

LceeL - J-man looks like his papa while Bubba looks like his uncle.

Lisa - Thanks, hon!

Patois - Yeah, he wasn't all that thrilled but he survived!

Halalamama said...

What a lot of fun. :) A nice break!

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

HalalaMama - It most definitely was!

Irrational Dad said...

1. LOVE the second picture.
2. LOVE the ice cream picture.
3. LOVE the last picture.
4. Wish I had a good reason for going AWOL for a bit too.