One thing that was on my Summer Bucket List that we hadn’t done yet was go bathing at the beach.

I remember what a big deal it was to go to the beach as a kid. We lived on the bank of a river, so we regularly got a water fix, but there is something you get at the ocean that you can’t get anywhere else. It’s like synchronizing your heartbeat with God’s as the rhythm of the waves moves through you.

I only remember two trips we took to the ocean when I was a kid. I don’t know how old I was the first time, but maybe older elementary school age. I remember both of my parents in the water with me, and we were all laughing and sputtering as we jumped waves together. A few times, I wasn’t quite tall enough to keep my head above the incoming waves, and despite the swallowed seawater, I remember it as an amazing experience.

The next time we went, my mom took my sister and I to the Jersey shore the weekend of my junior prom. I wasn’t AT my junior prom because I didn’t have a date. Looking back, this is a silly reason not to go to prom, especially given how much I like dancing. But I can’t very well go back and tell 17-year-old me what I know now. I probably wouldn’t have believed me, anyway. I ended that trip with a painful sunburn, but it stands out as one of the most fun weekends of my teenage life, and I loved my mom so much for taking us.

Going to the ocean is something I always wanted as  part of my life. I also wanted it to be part of my kids’ lives. They are so blessed to have two sets of grandparents who live near the beach – one set in Tobago, and one set on Long Island.

So this past week, the Chaplain took two days off of work, and we drove down to Long Island, picked up my mom, and drove to Jones Beach.

We got there at the hottest part of the day, and I didn’t bring my wide-brimmed hat. I don’t have sunglasses. And I got sunblock in my eye on the drive there. So I spent most of the day blinded and squinting. But besides some tenacious biting flies, those were the ONLY bad parts of the day.

There is something priceless about watching the kids’ faces – even the big ones – filled with unbridled joy as the waves wash over them. I love watching water flowing off of them and their shocked look of delight after they get up from being smashed by a big wave.

And there’s the feeling of huge waves rolling underneath you as you float out past the breakers.

Since we had three adults there, we all had a chance to bathe. I went in three times – shivering and unable to see in the blinding brightness of the sun reflecting off the water.

By the time we headed back to my parents’ house for the night, we were tired and completely covered by sand. The bathing process back at the house took hours.

We all went to bed early, and I blacked out moments after my head hit the pillow.

Usually when we’re traveling, the kids wake up especially early, but the next morning, they were in bed till 7:30, which was a gift. We were packed up and out the door a little after nine. A weather change overnight had left a chill in the air and helped us make the decision not to go back for just one more dip in the ocean before we left.

These brief adventures can be hard to do – it feels like so much work to go out, just to come back a day later. But it was worth it. Everyone, even our grouchy teenager, had a good time. I can’t wait for our next adventure.

That top photo? See me there, reflected in the Chaplain’s sunglasses? That’s the only photo I have of me from that day, and it’s made even better because *I’m* in focus, and the Chaplain and Seven are slightly fuzzy. Like I mentioned, I was bleary from the sun, saltwater, and sunblock in my eyes. Every successful pic I got from our day felt like a happy accident.