So we left at 3am on Saturday and headed east - to Alys beach - the furthest beach we've stayed at along Florida's Gulf Coast. We arrived by 6pm, changed, and raced to feel the tip of the ocean...
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
making summer memorable - alys beach 2011
Our 4th annual family beach vacation was a memorable one. As I shot these photos, I couldn't help but remember the years traveled - and looking through my lens - how different, how grown up... the kids are now. My sister and her family planned a trip out west, and although we were tempted to tag along, Ava grounded me to our summer tradition and the promise to return to the "beach" since she was 2 years old. This year was no different - she wanted to be at the beach - for 7 full days. I tempted her with Disneyland... but she refrained, and said she's outgrown the "princess stuff" {that's actually very good news!}
So we left at 3am on Saturday and headed east - to Alys beach - the furthest beach we've stayed at along Florida's Gulf Coast. We arrived by 6pm, changed, and raced to feel the tip of the ocean...
So we left at 3am on Saturday and headed east - to Alys beach - the furthest beach we've stayed at along Florida's Gulf Coast. We arrived by 6pm, changed, and raced to feel the tip of the ocean...
making memories with sand in my toes
Sometimes you just have to go for it. Abandon the fear, anxiety and "what if" scenarios that spiral into the abyss of our minds. As adults, our thoughts are capsuled by these very things - especially as parents. Worrying about anything and everything. But if we simply watch - our children are the very ones that teach us how to be fully free and present among ourselves...
promises
The annual family beach vacation we started last year, faced many obstacles this year. Aaron and I deliberated back and forth whether or not this was something we should forego and pick back up when the kids are older. My parents and sister were traveling out of the country, work was piling up, and the need to save now - more than ever - were all working against the dream.
The recent adventure to PV would have sufficed our need to bury 40 toes in the sand - except our family is really a bigger one - and extends into my own. There is something very nostalgic about family traditions. When I was young, we'd spend almost every weekend with our cousins - I can still smell Coney Island - hear the chatter of aunts and uncles coming in and out of Bebe's kitchen - and see my Bobo jan, over a century old, sitting in the backyard and watching all the grand [and great-grand] kids play baseball with tennis rackets. Many of my fond memories of childhood reside in those years - where weekend reunions with extended family were as common as the regular work week.
On shoestring budgets - each family came together to raise their kids as they were raised by generations before them. By the age of 10, all of that stopped, and my parents' obligation to save prevailed over childhood memories ever since.
Before using a lesson my Mom instilled - which was to refrain from making promises or plans - because "you never know what's going to happen tomorrow," I promised Ava we'd all go to the beach. No one forshadowed the recession. Aaron losing his job... or Dad's extended stay in Kabul. But I made the risky promise anyway - not accepting - how fast next summer would really come...
So when my bid for a new project was accepted, and the thought of saving it felt right and responsible, I decided that saving my promise to Ava - was even moreso.
The recent adventure to PV would have sufficed our need to bury 40 toes in the sand - except our family is really a bigger one - and extends into my own. There is something very nostalgic about family traditions. When I was young, we'd spend almost every weekend with our cousins - I can still smell Coney Island - hear the chatter of aunts and uncles coming in and out of Bebe's kitchen - and see my Bobo jan, over a century old, sitting in the backyard and watching all the grand [and great-grand] kids play baseball with tennis rackets. Many of my fond memories of childhood reside in those years - where weekend reunions with extended family were as common as the regular work week.
On shoestring budgets - each family came together to raise their kids as they were raised by generations before them. By the age of 10, all of that stopped, and my parents' obligation to save prevailed over childhood memories ever since.
Before using a lesson my Mom instilled - which was to refrain from making promises or plans - because "you never know what's going to happen tomorrow," I promised Ava we'd all go to the beach. No one forshadowed the recession. Aaron losing his job... or Dad's extended stay in Kabul. But I made the risky promise anyway - not accepting - how fast next summer would really come...
So when my bid for a new project was accepted, and the thought of saving it felt right and responsible, I decided that saving my promise to Ava - was even moreso.
Bienvenidos Summer!
Once the flu bug left us, we naturally caught the next best thing - the vacation bug. And when a "last-minute" deal popped up in my email on Tuesday, we were packed and ready to go by Friday to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the weekend. Yes. All 4 of us!
playing at the edge of the earth
After a 12 hour road trip with two sleepy children that were coming in and out of consciousness, we arrived underneath our beach house rental in Santa Rosa Beach, Fl. We parked the car, threw open the doors, unbuckled the kids and ran straight towards the sand. As if we were kids again, we all shouted, jumped up and down, and got ourselves wet with goosebumps as the strong winds from the Gulf welcomed us. In the middle of unpacking, I found Mom and Ava by the shore for a personal greeting and was absolutely speechless with the view. I felt as though I was at the edge of the earth. I was humbled. I was scared. I felt so alive to be in the presence of God's wonders. The ocean. My mother. My daughter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)