Summer Loveliness

I loooooove Summer?
Have I mentioned this before?
You know...
My girlies and I are beach bums.
The smell of sunblock is welcome in my house.
I spend the Winter months pining for the warmth of the sun and the bloom of flowers.
I savor every moment in my garden...the dirty nails, rough knees, hardening callouses all resulting in LOVELINESS.
Pops of color and natural, mix and match textures run rampant in my little patches of art-space...
...I mean garden!
Well...La dee da.
They really are one in the same. Art mimics life. Life is art.
Wouldn't it be nice if everything were this simple?

The local waters and oceans of the South Shore have been blissful.
It amazes me that the entire family can spend three hours wave jumping with out realizing that time has passed so quickly.
Maybe this is a sign that we should stop wishing for a Hawaiian vacation and just move there!

Just imagine...
Walking out of the classroom or office, popping on a bathing suit or better yet already having it on under your clothes...
...hopping into the car.
...grabbing the kids.
...driving a few minutes to a local shore.
...throw the boards into the water and GO!
...temperature of 80.
EVERY DAY!!!!
ALL YEAR ROUND!!!


I'd happily settle for it!
Sounds rough doesn't it?!

The above mentioned niceties are many of the reasons why I love Long Island.
I can travel North or South and plant myself in the sand, on a beautiful shore.
My girls are fish.
They are self taught divers, flippers, tumblers and back flippers.
It comes as second nature.
It makes me so happy to watch them play in the surf, build a sand creature or boogie board with friends and family.

These are my childhood beaches.
My mother and her friends splashed in these same waters with me as a little girl.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are with my Mom at the beach.
...floating around on the huge green and white inflatable chair for hours.
...swim lessons (including never ending laps)
...wearing my Mom's very fashionable, floppy hats and visors.
...collecting shells, drift wood and beach glass.
--Taking pleasure, knowing that my Mom would surely turn them into something decorative in the future.

As a mother I am compelled to pass this joy on.
A tradition of warm, fuzzy beach memories to be cherished by a new generation of young women.
--My little ladies.

Is it silly of me to sit here at midnight by the light of my daughter's fish tank and get weepy?

I am.
I feel a little silly but there's another tear.
We parents are so blessed to be able to share such a great wealth of gifts with our children...
Here I go again. We are so lucky. So very lucky.

The next time I butt heads with one of my stubborn little ladies (-which has been happening often lately. I attribute this to the fact that we are alike. ) I will make a point to think of this moment and
 "let it slide."
Maybe even take another ride to the shore.
It's so easy to get caught up in "all that is beach."