I'm not a mom, but for me, a tankini with boy shorts is the ideal middle age beachwear (and they work for water aerobics, too!). I enjoyed reading this. Your vivid details make me feel like I'm right there in the middle of all the family chaos.
We go to Holden Beach at the beginning of August and it is our first big vacation with our will be 10 month old Jake. I’ve been stressing about all of this and more for the past few months and your post was such a nice reminder to try to relax and enjoy the ride :) Hope you’re well Sarah!!
I adore Holden Beach. My husband went every year as a kid up.
Now we try and go back annually (if only for the day sit on the beach for the day and get Beaches and Cream on the way out.
I remember how hard it was to travel with littles.
But now my daughter is older and it’s so much *easier*. She can pack and carry her own crap.
You’re in a season of vacation hard. But pretty soon, you’ll be able to sit in a chair with your feet in the ocean while they run around you, keeping themselves amused. 🙌
We just returned from our yearly family trip to Bald Head Island and your experiences parallel ours. My grandchildren are a bit older than your kids. 9-16.
We’re in Texas now “recuperating”
with my daughter’s family, then home to Greensboro Saturday.
It is all worth it. My family's beach trip was 2 weeks ago, and there was chaos as well as plenty of memory-making. Our numbers have declined over the past few years as family members pass, but showing up is what means the most to those of us who remain. ❤️
That was so much fun, Sarah. And I love the way your sentence rhythms bring the story into real time. I felt I was with you and, at the same time, really glad I wasn't!
Can relate to this feeling. We finished a recent family beach trip and great memories were made, different type of “vacation” for the adults though. I just remind myself it’s a temporary stage of life that we’re in.
We rent a huge home at the beach in the Florida Panhandle every June. For 2 weeks our kids and 6 grandkids join us. Usually one family at a time, each son has 3 kids each. This year, we had an overlap of both families so we could do family pictures on the beach. The grandkids love their cousin time. My youngest son and his wife don’t always get along with our eldest sons wife, ( my youngest is a bit self centered) I had to remind them that it’s not always about them, to put their differences aside for the sake of their children. After that “talk” they behaved much better. Everyone had a fabulous time. It was interesting to see the different parenting styles though, hubs and I bit our tongues more than a few times.😂 Even with the drama, we wouldn’t trade this precious time for anything. The memories will last a lifetime.🥰
Whew. I’m stressed after reading this piece ….. 😂 I am not sure I could survive that . But life is oftentimes a big beautiful mess and so enjoy it all.
I remember when my sister and I decided it was the last time for us to be in a swimsuit for awhile as we were both pregnant and the bright yellow malliot choice left me with an unexpected Big Bird effect. The solution to the highlighter yellow actually IS burnt sienna and that is if you yourself are tanned burnt sienna and then the highlighter yellow looks amazing. Two words on the beach solution for me: the McAfee twins. They kept me from being outnumbered and I will always remember how nice it was to have them around. Get you some teenage twins and share the $$ cost haha between your sibs.
Beautiful!!! I felt like I was living it as you were describing it. I love you all and have fun!!!
I'm not a mom, but for me, a tankini with boy shorts is the ideal middle age beachwear (and they work for water aerobics, too!). I enjoyed reading this. Your vivid details make me feel like I'm right there in the middle of all the family chaos.
We go to Holden Beach at the beginning of August and it is our first big vacation with our will be 10 month old Jake. I’ve been stressing about all of this and more for the past few months and your post was such a nice reminder to try to relax and enjoy the ride :) Hope you’re well Sarah!!
I adore Holden Beach. My husband went every year as a kid up.
Now we try and go back annually (if only for the day sit on the beach for the day and get Beaches and Cream on the way out.
I remember how hard it was to travel with littles.
But now my daughter is older and it’s so much *easier*. She can pack and carry her own crap.
You’re in a season of vacation hard. But pretty soon, you’ll be able to sit in a chair with your feet in the ocean while they run around you, keeping themselves amused. 🙌
We just returned from our yearly family trip to Bald Head Island and your experiences parallel ours. My grandchildren are a bit older than your kids. 9-16.
We’re in Texas now “recuperating”
with my daughter’s family, then home to Greensboro Saturday.
It is all worth it. My family's beach trip was 2 weeks ago, and there was chaos as well as plenty of memory-making. Our numbers have declined over the past few years as family members pass, but showing up is what means the most to those of us who remain. ❤️
That was so much fun, Sarah. And I love the way your sentence rhythms bring the story into real time. I felt I was with you and, at the same time, really glad I wasn't!
Loved your descriptions, Sarah Frances! Excellent piece of writing.
Beautiful!!! I felt like I was living it as you were describing it. I love you all and have fun!!!
Can relate to this feeling. We finished a recent family beach trip and great memories were made, different type of “vacation” for the adults though. I just remind myself it’s a temporary stage of life that we’re in.
We rent a huge home at the beach in the Florida Panhandle every June. For 2 weeks our kids and 6 grandkids join us. Usually one family at a time, each son has 3 kids each. This year, we had an overlap of both families so we could do family pictures on the beach. The grandkids love their cousin time. My youngest son and his wife don’t always get along with our eldest sons wife, ( my youngest is a bit self centered) I had to remind them that it’s not always about them, to put their differences aside for the sake of their children. After that “talk” they behaved much better. Everyone had a fabulous time. It was interesting to see the different parenting styles though, hubs and I bit our tongues more than a few times.😂 Even with the drama, we wouldn’t trade this precious time for anything. The memories will last a lifetime.🥰
Whew. I’m stressed after reading this piece ….. 😂 I am not sure I could survive that . But life is oftentimes a big beautiful mess and so enjoy it all.
It.is.all. worth. it. I love the way this is so relatable! Thank you for making me feel less alone in this :)
I remember when my sister and I decided it was the last time for us to be in a swimsuit for awhile as we were both pregnant and the bright yellow malliot choice left me with an unexpected Big Bird effect. The solution to the highlighter yellow actually IS burnt sienna and that is if you yourself are tanned burnt sienna and then the highlighter yellow looks amazing. Two words on the beach solution for me: the McAfee twins. They kept me from being outnumbered and I will always remember how nice it was to have them around. Get you some teenage twins and share the $$ cost haha between your sibs.
Beautiful!!! I felt like I was living it as you were describing it. I love you all and have fun!!!
💞💞