Toes in the water.

Before we left for our trip to the beach, a work friend said he couldn’t picture me being the type of person that loved the beach. I think it’s because he couldn’t picture me as a red head not getting burnt to a crisp out in the sun, so I proceeded to prove him wrong, by being utterly aghast that he didn’t know I (1) got married on the beach, (2) have been known to head to Margarittaville when at all possible, (3) crank the bob Marley, and (4) maybe I get butterflies when a Kenny Chesney song happens to reference the sand. There’s nowhere I’d rather spend my time than with my toes in the water and my butt in the sand.

In recent years, since being a ‘real’ adult (marriage, job, house, kid) I've missed spending time at the beach. My heart longs for the wide ocean and the white sandy shores of the Gulf. I've been fortunate enough to put my toes in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, but nothing compares to the beaches where I feel the most at home. As I’m sure a lot of us Deep South natives do, I have twenty plus years of memories that stretch from New Orleans to Panama City. From camping trips, to hotel rooms filled with friends, to high end condos, to cabins surrounded by nature. From our beautifully catered wedding to burying my sisters in the sand to dancing the night away at Flora Bama.   So many years of memories and big life moments were spent at the beach.

Now going to the beach is a little different. There’s no time to spend on my tan or just lying under the umbrella reading the latest Lauren Weisberger, there’s something better… being with my son as he begins making memories of his own. I barely had a moment to take it all in. To feel the sand under my toes, to listen to the waves crashing, while the sun warmed my skin and the ocean breeze kept me cool. I barely had time to smell the salty air or taste the salt water on my lips.

But I got to hear my baby squeal as the cold water hit is toes, I got to take him on his first boat ride, capture hermit crabs, point out sail boats and see dolphins peek over the surface. Even when we took him last year, he loved the sand and once he warms up to the water, he’s all in!

He’s still talking about things he did at the beach and who was there. Maybe when he’s thirty, he’ll look back and say I have so many memories of the beach that it feels like home. 

I am posting more of jonah's birthday shoot on my professional photography blog. You can see them here. 

This post may be linked with:

Serendipity is Sweet, Finding Serendipity,  LIttle Things Thursday, 

PhotoStory Friday, Long Road to China

whistle and ivy - I was featured for their monthly photo link up! Thank you!

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