We've finally gotten to go to the beach a couple times this past week. Our spring went from the 60's and low 70's to the 90's in a matter of two days. I thought the water would be frigid, but it was wonderfully warm, even following the amazing thunderstorms we've had.
Jacob and Merrilee are old enough now to really enjoy the sand and the surf and this was the first time I've really gotten to see their "beach personalities". I was surprised that Jacob is as much of a water monkey as he is. Even though he usually sinks like a rock, he loves to just jump in and splash away. He can swim as long as he can start in water at waist level and land on his feet after a few strokes (if you can call the thrashing "strokes"). He does get from point A to point B, but needs to work on his endurance. It was also interesting that, for being somewhat afraid of water in the tub getting too deep ("It might go into my face") he eagerly pushes the limits of how far out he's allowed to go into the water.
Merrilee, on the other hand, prefers to stay on land. She loves the water as a source of "soup" for her recipes, usually mixed in a bowl dug into the sand just out of reach of the waves. But she just doesn't really warm up to getting her face in the surf. And she's my swimmer. Like my mom, she prefers the pool. I admit to having a case of the heebie-jeebies when I think I might step on a living creature or get touched by a passer-by down where I can't see it. But I really do prefer open ocean to a pool. Merrilee just feels uncomfortable swimming in open water and is happy to stir and mix and dig and toss rocks. She did decide, about 6 minutes before we left the beach yesterday, that she was "ready to swim", but of course once she got the salty water in her face she called it a day.
We'll just stay home today and enjoy the pool in our back yard. Jacob came home with a cleverly hidden collection of rocks and sand in places unseen yesterday, so today we'll just save him some chafing issues.
Blessings to you all!
