sand between our toes

 Mike and I are not originally from the coast, Mike is actually from Oklahoma, which is pretty close to as far away from the ocean as you can get. So during the 12 years that we've lived here we've only been to the beach a handful of times. Sand is not my favorite thing, constantly being worried that my child (who shall remain unnamed) was going to run off with strangers or drown herself, and not being able to see what exactly I'm stepping on in the water, those have all been deterrents to my (our?) enjoyment of "the beach." But recently we've been going to a specific beach during a specific time at the prompting of some friends. And you know what? It's been a totally different experience (other than that I still don't like murky water and stepping on pointy conch shells) that makes the colossal amount of sand in the bathtub and the car, and the washer, and the porch, and the beach bags, all worth it. I've parred down our "essentials" of what we carry to the beach and we've added food to the mix. A trip to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's for snacks and special drinks right before we hit the island makes a world of difference. We've stayed for hours. Hours and hours. Our kids love it. Samuel is in boy heaven and we can actually relax and just sit and watch them play in the tidal pool. Very few worries about them, unless the tide is coming in, and a very wonderful way to spend our Saturdays. I only wish we had discovered it could be this way years ago.
Here's to a month of Saturday's at the beach! I finally feel like a true South Carolinian! (shhhh...don't tell the natives!)