Upon hearing that it would be in the nineties today, I decided last minute to go to the beach this morning. I had a vision- We would sit on a blanket under the umbrella and I could read my book while he played in the sand. So with this in mind I put the wagon, the umbrella, a blanket and a lunch in the car and we headed off to Coronado at 8:30 in the morning. This is what really happened. We parked right next to the wheel chair ramp that leads out to the sand. I put him in the Ergo, loaded the wagon and off we went to find a good spot not too close to the water, so he wouldn’t be tempted to run off into the ocean. I laid out the blanket and put up the umbrella and put Miles down and he took off, made a straight line for the ocean. So I hopped up and ran after him, taking his sandals off and running back to throw them in the wagon.
He ran screaming like a wild boar straight into the water and promptly fell on his butt. Okay so his shorts and cloth diaper are wet, no big deal, I thought. I tried from then on to keep him in the shallow water, but selfishly, I wanted to get video of all the cute noises he was making, so I made a decision. I let him go. He ran into the waves and got knocked down and roll in the water, get up shake it off and do it again. So I took off his shorts. All the while I was very aware his sun block only went to his knees. His cloth diaper was soaked and hanging heavily between his legs- probably what kept knocking him down. He had sand all over his body, caked on like sandpaper. After a little while of trying to get video and pictures without letting the ocean take him or getting my camera wet I decided that enough was enough and I would try to salvage my original vision. Having forgotten towels, swim diapers, or a change of clothing and being unable to put sunblock on him as he was covered in sand, I thought I would strip him down and let him dry off in the shade of the umbrella. That was a joke. He ran all over the beach picking up sand and throwing it, mostly on himself, while totally naked. Meanwhile it was nearing 10 am so the beach was starting to become more crowded with other Moms and older kids. Boy did they all get a kick out of seeing me in my wet clothes and floppy hat running after the wild and naked boy.
Cursing myself for being so totally unprepared I made an executive decision to cut my losses and pack up. I decided to try to hose him off at the bathroom shower. So again, naked (him, not me!) I tried to put him under the shower. He was very interested in pushing the button although he was shaking like he had Parkinson’s from the cold. We managed to get most of the sand off him and a relatively clean and dry cloth diaper on him. I let him play in the car while I loaded it up. Finally, donning a cloth diaper only, I buckled him in to his seat and defeated, headed for home.
On the way home I was trying to feed him little pieces of the sandwich I had hoped to eat on the beach. I was driving and reaching back to hand him pieces. He grabbed my hand and steered it to his mouth and then held my hand, patting it and laughing. I felt like he was thanking me for the short time at the beach. And that made it all worth while. But next time I’m bring bathing suits and towels. Duh.
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