Wake Up and Smell The Childhood

Today I took my two boys (ages 3 and 14) to the beach near our home to meet up with our friends at their family's condo. The beach is an experience that I only had a handful of times growing up and so I definitely revel in being able to take my children as often as humanly possible before the jellyfish come out to play. That's part of the beauty of being a parent, sharing something we loved from our own younger years with our children. It brings back the memories of Padre Island, my mom and aunt laughing together as my sister, cousin and I play in the sand or water. Many of us have had moments like that; happy instances in life where we acted silly, laughed hysterically and will forever remember. That is the legacy that my mother gave to me and that I in turn hope to pass on to my children.



My 14 year old decided to leave the beach and hang out up at the pool with his buddy. So I enjoyed a day of experiencing life through the eyes of a 3 year old. He laughed at the seaweed washing up on the shore, throwing it back in the water with great glee; told the little crabs to “GO! GO AWAY! GO BACK IN YOUR HOLES!” because he didn't like the way they looked; and joyfully plunged into the waves. All the time that we were there another family was not too far away from us; a mom, dad and 3 children. As I laughed at my precocious toddler I was also aghast at the fact that the mother sat in her beach chair next to one of the children playing on a DS the entire day! The dad got out in the water with the other two kiddos who were consistently ignored by the mom when they called out to her.



I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best mother in the world...I may not even rank in the top 100, but I do have a couple of firm rules when it comes to family time.

These rules have been put into place for several reasons and the greatest of these is that we only have one childhood. Our kids are kids for such a short amount of time and then they run off to become mouthy teens who don't want to hang out with mom and baby brother at the beach. If we don't get them out of the DS and on to the beach, why the heck did we even bring them with us?! Get active with them, relive that moment that you loved WITH them. Let them dunk you in the water, bury you in the sand and chase you down the beach with their sandy little hands formed into monster claws. Let go of everything that is stressing you out and take an active role in their day. Get down on their level, wake up and smell the childhood that is still alive inside of YOU! I did and I have the sunburned spots where the sunscreen was missed to prove it! I also have a Monster Teen who enjoyed getting a day away from his mom, came back to me with smiles, hugs and an, “I love you, Mom!” and a Toddler Troll who was so worn out he fell asleep 5 minutes into our car ride home.



Yep, I think we've made some great memories today.