Those Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

Aug 11th, 2009 | By David Niall Wilson | Category: Article

katiestephsmallLife in our little world is about to take major shifts. In only two weeks, Stephanie will be off to college, and Katie will be starting kindergarten. The family dynamic shifts, and every couple of years more kids will hop out of nests and disrupt it further.  There was only one answer.  We planned a day at the beach.

To put this in perspective, we’ve lived here a long time.  We’re about an hour and a half from the beaches in Kitty Hawk, and have no excuse for never having visited.  This year, Katie got a plastic bag full of implements of destruction.  She got excited, and she got the beach.

It was very hot, but we had plenty of room.  Not a crowded day, and though it was chilly, the water wasn’t too cold.  We slathered up with sunblock and settled in for one of the best days of the year.  Katie made sandcastles (with and without our help) – we all gathered a small bucket full of sea shells.  We body-surfed and played in the waves.  Other than my own lack of attention to detail with the sunblock, and that of my son, I can’t imagine a more perfect day.DSCF0864

Sometimes you have to take time to make memories.  I’m informed by the young one that it was “the best day ever.”  She’s said it before, but only on days when she was very happy – days she’ll remember.  I hope Stephanie will remember it too.  We all had fun…and we’re going to miss her a lot when she goes off to school.

These are the times that make it all worthwhile.  There are never enough of them.

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  • SplinteredMind
    In the past few years I've started looking around at all the mountain trails I should have been hiking with my family, the historic farms and sites of Utah, the fun things we never seem to have time for. I have my own heading off to college soon. I'm hoping I rethought how we spend our time before it was too late for her to have fond memories as well.

    We really do need to pencil in fun into our calendars. Just for the cost of a few gallons of gas and we can make memories that last a lifetime for our children.

    Great article.
  • Those truly are the days that make memories. A bucket and unlimited supply of sand trumps a DS or a Wii every time.
  • David_N_Wilson
    We had the economy plastic bag of beach toys - sand molds, shovels, and imagination!
  • We forget sometimes that kids expect very little from us. All they want is our undivided attention. They don't need theme parks or expensive junk. They want us to be with them fully and committally once in a while. Some of our best moments together as a family has been beach days or an unexpected treat to the park.
  • David_N_Wilson
    Yes...Katie in particular is happiest when she has our full attention. With a full time job and a writing career it's hard sometimes to get those completely detached moments. Thanks for reading.
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