The Getaway

We stood across the driveway in a standoff—me with a frustrated look and hands on my hips.

Bob on the other side with a big smile on his face and a skimboard in his hands. 

And our poor neighbor stood in the middle with a bewildered look on his face.

“I am not going to the emergency room this week.  If you insist on bringing that thing, then when a kid falls and breaks a wrist, YOU are taking them.” I said in a huff.

“You’re being negative.  It’s a beach toy!  We are going to the beach!” Bob said triumphantly, holding it in the air.

“What do you think, Joe?”

Our neighbor opened his eyes wide and looked at the ground, shrugging and smiling, and probably wondering how he found himself in such an awkward position.

“I mean if the kids play with it, just be sure to get a good picture of them when they wipe out.”

“Yeah!” Bob cheered and shoved the skimboard into the back of the car.

Minutes earlier, I had instructed Bob to go to the garage to get a cooler. We were preparing to leave for a week down at the shore. Instead, he came back into the house looking like he just won the lottery, holding the skimboard and cheering.

Also, no cooler.

If you don’t know what a skimboard is, it’s a board you place at the very end of a broken wave as the water recedes back into the ocean.  You toss the board on this last remnant of water, jump on it, and skim across the water’s surface.

I have had the skimboard for years.  I’ve determined that Catelyn is the biggest klutz through those years and should steer clear of all activities involving speed, coordination, and balance.

Bobby, on the other hand, has coordination and balance. But he is also involved in a ton of sports teams and should steer clear of any unnecessary risks.

The cheering was contagious, however.  The skimboard was going on vacation.

This Negative Nelly knows how to plant a seed. Saying, “that’s a broken wrist,” after watching the kids wipe out for a whole afternoon gets internalized. Bob watched a wipeout and gasped on his own concerned accord, “that could have been a broken wrist!”

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The skimboard was called in, and a new game was offered.

Score one for me. 😊

Skimboard joking aside, we had a great week down at the shore.

If I wasn’t out running and getting a specialty coffee from a favorite local shop early in the morning, I was opening the beach and relaxing to the sound of the waves.

The older kids brought friends.  When they weren’t playing games or sunning on the beach, they were off on their own.  We rented bikes, gave them mealtimes, and a curfew.

Declan didn’t need to bring a friend to have a good time.  When he was not in the water, he spent his time drying off and perusing the kids in the area.  When he located a group digging in the sand, he joined them.  He made a lot of new friends this week and had a great time. 

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Evenings were spent back on the beach to watch the sunset. To listen to the waves, to hang out and play games, or chill.

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Overall, we had a very relaxing week.  We were all so sad to leave and are already hoping for a day trip back. Sadly, we’ll be going back without a skimboard. It mysteriously got donated for another mother to worry about broken wrists. 😉