The Beach Kids

If I could choose just one place to be right this minute....it's the ocean!!

To me the ocean is symbolic of life. The power of eternity is seen in the endless horizon. The ocean brings me peace. I have often sat in the sand...gazing at the ocean with tears dripping down my cheeks, mourning the loss of my husband and shortly after the loss of my mother. I have sat ocean side many times throughout my life contemplating life's numerous challenges. For some useen reason the sound of the crashing waves around me...their rymthic pulse gives me peace in my soul. Just watching a sunset on the ocean horizon is magical and unique and there's just something indescribably romantic about it. God is never closer to me than when I'm oceanside gazing at His creation!

All that being said I now need to flip to the other side of the story. The story of The Beach Kids. Fifteen years ago my sister and I started our annual tradition of taking our grandkids to the Oregon coast for a week every summer. They soon dubbed themselves The Beach Kids.  Our first trip we had only three children and since then we have had as many as ten. It seems each year lately we loose one or two kids to the call of their teenage friends, sports camps or jobs. This year we had three teenages...two seven year olds and two nine year olds.

I didn't see a sunset...because by the time the sun would set I was nodding off in my chair.  Here is a brief snopsis of each day:

The sea gulls would start with their noise making at the crack of dawn and the younger kids would follow suit shortly after adding their noise to the medley. Soon the teenagers were up contributing their noise with music...wrestling...slugging...and teasing the little kids.

Then comes the food..or maybe I need to say there goes the food. Oh my Goodness...do they ever eat!! My sister and I have a deal...I do the cooking and she cleans up. Well I figured it out that I cooked 20 meals...fixed 231 snacks...handed out 36 bottles of water...and numerous popsicles and graham cracker treats

                                                                                 

I saved numerous kids from their teasing older cousins and siblings...I intervened in arguments regarding the nighly movie choice...I played with them on the dunes so many times that my calves now feel like someone has pounded them with a baseball bat....I marched on the sand with the little kids playing follow the leader...I helped build sand castles...I judged their castle contest...I played in the surf for two hours with seven kids...I helped bury Peter in the sand for teasing the little kids. I helped the girls build a fort.
I carried sand toys back and forth too many times to count and next year I am going to make a
few voice recordings before I leave.

 #1 Peter stop teasing the little kids. #2 Brush the sand off your feet before coming in the house. #3 Your hungry..how can that be? #4 Peter stop teasing the little kids.
#5 Yes you can have another snack. #6 Peter stop teasing the little kids

I brought home sand in my pockets and sand in my ears but I also brought more memories of another year of The Beach Kids. Yes I love the ocean..the sound...the sights...the feel...the smell. But most of all I love The Beach Kids.