just as much as i was looking forward to vacation, i'm now bumming just as much that it's over. for the past few years -- actually, since morgan was born -- i've taken long weekends off, but we haven't gone anywhere for a week since she was born, and i had forgotten the sheer joy of not having to worry about a schedule or being anywhere at a given time....heck, aside from that, let's not forget the joy of not having to wear footwear that resembled anything other than a flip-flop for a week!
i also never realized just how much *STUFF* you could actually pack into an suv for a week-long trip! as i mentioned in my last entry, the days of just piling a few things into a suitcase and not giving any forethought to what you're taking are long gone now that morgan's here -- but it was a great learning experience because now i know that i won't need to take nearly as many toys or clothes on vacation next summer. i figured it was better to be prepared than to need something and not have it -- but i also found out that morgan was so exhausted by the end of a day spent swimming, building sand castles, eating ice cream on the boardwalk, riding kiddie rides and hitting the outlets with mommy that the last thing she wanted to do when she got back to the beach house was play with her toys.
undoubtedly one of the best parts of the whole week was the afternoon of the first day we arrived. we decided to just walk along the boardwalk and take in all the sights then walk on the beach for awhile. when morgan saw the sand and the waves, her eyes grew huge and the biggest smile spread across her face. "my beach! my beach!," she exclaimed, amazed by what appeared to be the world's largest sandbox beneath her tiny toes. she was a bit daunted at first by the sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline, but as she stood staring out to sea and held mommy's hand on one side and daddy's on the other and we helped her jump high over the approaching waves as we counted 1...2...3...jump!!, she loved it and couldn't wait to come back the next day, shouting "beach, i'm coming!" and running toward the sand.
when i was anticipating my vacation and thought about the fact that i wouldn't be able to lie on the beach and relax and read like i had done before morgan, i was a bit upset....but honestly, i had so much fun running after her as her little legs carried her down from our perch under our umbrella to the shoreline that i didn't even miss it. we crafted sandcastles from the plastic molds that we brought with us (and kept sending poor daddy back to fetch water to make the sand just the right consistency!) and we buried our legs and toes so they were hidden below the sandy surface. i chased after her with our videocamera, watching her as she helped daddy launch a kite on the beach at dusk. and she and i split a hot dog and a coke that we got from a beach vendor....hmmm, does eating sand count as fiber?? (and yes, i know that i'm a quasi-vegetarian and a hot dog is off limits; i also know that a two year-old shouldn't be making a diet of processed meat and soda....but this was vacation, after all).
i was also pleasantly surprised at how well morgan adapted to our new home-away-from-home. i thought she might be homesick for some toy she forgot to bring or for 'mam-mam', my mom whom she loves dearly and will choose anytime over daddy and mommy. she loved our house and explored each room as soon as we arrived, and she quickly learned what our house looked like, pointing to it as we approached it each afternoon after a long day at the beach or an evening of fun and exclaiming, "my house, my house!" (yeah, she is at that great age where she thinks everything is hers). she even made sure to say good night to the beach and the sand and the seagulls and the moon and the boardwalk each evening when we headed for home, eagerly anticipating the next day.
and now, after being back at our real home for almost a week, it's a bittersweet feeling to look back and reminisce about our week together. after all, it was morgan's first trip to the beach and the first week that the three of us spent together without the distractions of phones, computers, work concerns, daycare, and TV (ok, we cheated a little bit on that one....but it was only on for about an hour a day, when we watched Curious George in the morning!). unfortunately, we're now back into the swing of real life and i miss having her all to my self....but i'll always have great memories of our first true vacation as a family!
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