Life is a beach

I am a beach girl. I always have been. I can sit on a beach for hours and days and be perfectly content. I find the crashing waves soothing, I find the calm ocean soothing, I find the gulls screeching about soothing. I have a lot of beach stories.

Today, after sitting and watching Maddie play softball under the blistering sun, we went to the beach. A friend had told us about this place called Higgins Beach, and said we had to check it out. Peter heard that everyone else was going to go to Old Orchard Beach. I've been there/done that. More than once. It is like Hampton Beach, really, you just drive through. No, I wanted to go to the beach where there were no people and there was no parking.

We hauled the cooler like a quarter of a mile, with our beach chairs, from the small parking lot where we paid $5 for the privilege of leaving our car. It was after 5:00 and really, what I consider prime beach time. Now, we had been sweating all day long, and traipsing down to the beach we were still not cool. As we walked upon the small strip (high tide) Peter kept saying, what's wrong with this spot? What's wrong with this spot? He will sit next to anyone! I had my eye on a prime piece of beach quite a bit further down where no one was nearby. Obviously the lazy people sit on the beach by the stairs. I want the primo beach site. He didn't get it. At last we found the perfect spot and he kept teasing me, are you sure this grain of sand is to your liking? Perhaps THOSE grains of sand over yonder are better?

Listen. When you are sitting on the beach, all set up and enjoying life, when some schmuck from wherever comes along and plunks themselves right on top of you, when there is plenty of room elsewhere, it's aggravating and not nice. I don't do it to other people so they won't do it to me.

So we sat down and within about 30 seconds we were all freezing. That is Maine for you. Of course, I had a backpack with a sweatshirt in it, but did anyone else come prepared? Of course not. I gave the sweatshirt to Maddie and wrapped myself in a towel, and proceeded to make the most delicious beach snacks. We found the most FABULOUS health food store this afternoon -- oh my. I was in heaven. Complete and total. I skipped around in glee and chose all sorts of wonderful beach snacks. I took a piece of flat bread, spread goat cheese brie, sliced thin pieces of organic pear and put that on top of the cheese, then sprinkled some sunflower sprouts on top. OHMYOHMYOHMY. Yummy. I had some wine and all was good in the world.

The other two were freezing. COME ON! We are at the beach. There has to be a little give and take, you know? I spent ALL DAY sitting in a field in the blazing sun watching softball games. I adapted, I figured it out.

Peter went back to the car for coats (that is his solution to everything, just go DO something besides what we are doing) and that placated everyone for a little bit. But not long. About 20 minutes later Peter said he was bored. COME ON! We had packed a cooler full of fun and scrumptious food, we had wine, beer, water, etc. Sure, it was a bit chilly, but now we had coats!

I don't know why I can sit on a beach forever and ever. I was telling Maddie that cold is just a part of it. I told her about one time a friend and I had been at Ogunquit beach in Maine, all day long. There had been not one single wave the entire day. We had sat through sunset, enjoying a bottle of wine and bread and cheese, and I had walked back to get the car. My friend was waiting in the parking lot at the edge of the beach, and I pulled up and she said to me I had to look. The tide was coming in and there, before us, were the most amazing waves. We looked at each other, and without a further thought we locked up the car and ran down, plunging into the freezing cold water with a mission.

We body surfed until we were exhausted. There were people on the beach watching us and shaking their heads. It was not only cold water, it was cold out! But they didn't understand that we had started that day with the intent to body surf. The fact that the waves hadn't shown up until much, much, MUCH later ... well, we went with it!

But oh we were cold. Freezing really. I remember I was shivering and shaking so badly I couldn't get the key into the ignition. We wrapped ourselves in towels and sat in the car for a long time with the heat blaring on high, trying to stave off hypothermia. We peeled off the wet suits once we stopped shaking, and put on warm, dry clothes. I don't think you really appreciate what it is like to be warm and cozy until you freeze first! I really don't.

So when you are sitting on the beach, dry, with a coat on, and someone is complaining they are cold, you can certainly understand that I don't get it. I really don't. We are AT THE BEACH! There is nothing unhappy about it. Not ever. I have sat on the beach in the fog, unable to even see the water in front of me. I have sat on the beach with a million people surrounding me. I have sat on the beach alone. I love the beach. Any kind of beach day is a good beach day to me.

And really, there is one other caveat to a perfect beach day. You must (and you know who you are!) be with those of the same mindset as you! Because there is nothing better, once you are AT the beach, than to be with someone who gets it. Who wants to be there just as much as you do and is willing to overlook a few pesky thing like baby sharks that bite and pounding waves that nearly rip your bathing suits off.

Maddie said she hates the way her hands feel when they get sand on them. Peter said he hates the way his whole body feels as though it is covered with salt -- even though he didn't go swimming.

I love anything about the beach.

I really do.