Mother's Day at the Beach

To celebrate Mother's Day, my daughters and I spent a weekend at the beach.
I am a very lucky mom.  

The beach teaches many lessons.  

When we arrived we went walking by the water looking for sea glass.  Hunting for sea glass is a family tradition.  As we walked, we laughed and talked about how each piece was different.  Some pieces were "done" and others we threw back.  One piece we kept was not done but it was a bright blue color that I love.  When I look at it I will think of that moment and remember their excitement as they ran to share it with me.  We knew we should throw it back, to turn into "real" sea glass but I didn't.  I explained that not every piece has to be perfect to be beautiful.

Lesson #1-Life or people don't have to be perfect to be treasured.

We continued our walk and I almost stepped on a snake. (Yes, at the beach!)  I backed off quickly and it was very scary. (Mini lesson-always take a phone for an emergency).  We kind of lost our enthusiasm to keep walking and turned around.

Lesson #2-Sometimes things appear in our lives, and we have to go another way.

On our way back the wind was whipping sand into our faces and stinging our legs.  It was cold and we had walked too far.  We tried sitting down to rest and it was worse.  The three of us made a little hug huddle and it was better.  Then we kept going.

Lesson #3-A hug always helps.

The next day was too windy to go walking on the beach, we had learned our lesson very well.  Still we had a delightful day.  We ate yummy food, which included too many treats, took naps, read books, laughed, reminisced about past trips and listened to music.  And killed a moth. (Another blog entirely!)  The girls went to bed kind of early because it was not very good internet reception.  I stayed up to read and went to bed way too late.  

Lesson #4-Without internet, you can hear what is going on in the moment.

Lesson #5-Too many treats remind you why healthy eating makes you feel better.

Lesson #6-Staying up too late makes you feel like you have a hangover. 

On Sunday morning we returned to the beach.  The sky was blue, the waves feisty.  AND the snake was there, on a different part of the beach.  We kept going and it was gone on our return.  When we came back we sat on the beach and watched the waves.  I was so very grateful for those moments for us to be together.  

Lesson #7-Obstacles are everywhere, keep going.

Lesson #8-Savor and be thankful.

At the condo we packed and started for home.  There was a terrible accident about a mile in front of us.  We were stopped on Highway 101 for over an hour.  People were out of their cars, talking, worrying and sending prayers to the victims of the accident.  We handed out water to those who had none which included dogs in back of an SUV.  

Lesson #9-You can make a difference wherever you are.

We arrived home safe, much later than expected.  We sat down to a wonderful dinner prepared by my husband, Dennis.  There were beautiful flowers from the kids including the dogs too. We told stories, laughed and enjoyed our time together.  And had frozen yogurt, a yummy ending to the day. 

Lesson #10-Count your blessings.

Being a mom is not an easy job.  

It comes with a lot of work and heartache but also with much joy and love. 

It is good to have a day to celebrate being a mom. 

I am very thankful to have had this special weekend with my girls.  

We learned a lot!