Who doesn’t love a day at the beach?

To tell you the truth, there are people who don’t enjoy going to the beach.  Usually, the main reason is because they don’t like getting all sandy, and having to deal with trying to clean up at the end of the day.

I can really understand this. It is nearly impossible to get every single grain of sand off your body after a day at the beach.

I recently watched my ten year old son trying to get his feet clean enough to put his shoes and socks back on while still at the beach. He laid his towel down at the point closest to the water where it still wouldn’t get wet. Next he dipped his feet in the water to clean them off, and then proceeded to hop back to his towel. He dried his foot while trying very hard to stay balanced. Next he put one sock and one shoe on. He repeated the process for his other foot. As I proudly watched him independently taking care of himself, I realized that the process of cleaning off ones feet at the beach must be an inborn one, almost an instinct. Even active ten year old boys can figure it out.

A few days later I actually learned that my son is from the group of those who do not love the beach. I really believe it has a lot to do with the clean up. No matter how hard one tries, there is always sand stuck between our toes when we get home. The car is left sandy for weeks on end, and I find myself sliding across my house on grains of sand for the next week or two.  Let’s not forget the “sandy bed”; the tiny grains that turn your silky sheet into sandpaper. Sand is just one of those things that miraculously gets spread everywhere. It’s really unbelievable, and messy!

Ever try eating a sandwich at the beach? There’s a reason it’s called a SANDwich.   😉

But putting all the hardships aside, the beach is one of my favorite places to be. Watching and listening to the waves rumble is so relaxing. Sitting in the warm, soft sand is deliciously comforting. Witnessing one of the wonders of the world is incredibly inspiring. Realizing the enormity of it all, and the seemingly endless ocean is humbling. All in all, going to the beach is an incredibly therapeutic experience.

Sometimes, when I feel like I need a dose of beach, but can’t get there, I take a minute to close my eyes, see the waves, smell the sea, hear the seagulls, feel the wind blowing through my hair and across my face, and for a moment I am there.

I grew up in sunny, Hollywood, Florida and went to school in Miami Beach. We could walk five minutes after the school day ended and get to the beach. But, even if I hadn’t grown up with the beach in my backyard, I would imagine that I would still have a special connection to the beach and great yearning to be there as often as possible.