I love every season that God gives us, but it's like I can't fully appreciate a new season until I let go of the current one.
Lots of analogies to LIFE here, but that's for another day because BEACH.
Anyway...I was thinking about how much I love Fall. I love the leaves and the colors and the food and the football. I always wish it could last longer. But, at some point, I put the pumpkins away, and get out the Christmas stuff...and even tho I'm sad to see Fall go, moving on to the next season makes me so happy.
So, as we leave winter, and head into Spring, I know there's quickly coming a day when my beloved PJ Salvage flannel pajammies will have to be put away.
Thankfully, that day is not today!
Because I got up early and went out to the balcony to watch the sun rise before breakfast. The wind was blowing and the waves were crashing...it was absolutely beautiful. I sat there, in my flannel pjs, and could hardly take it all in...that God, in His majesty, created all of this beauty. It's really true: "the Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." (Psalm 19:1)
The fact that He created us...we are so very small, compared to all of His creation, and yet we think we are SO BIG.
We hung around the condo until late morning, when we all ventured out to the beach. It was sunny and warm, but it wasn't what I would call, "BEACH-warm." It got warmer during the day, and we had a great time sitting and talking and looking for shells.
Joshua and I decided to go on a walk, and Jim jumped up and said he was going to go with us. It became apparent after about 1.29384756 minutes that the word, "walk," had a different meaning to Jim.
Because I am with Joshua most of the time, I know that he doesn't do anything fast. Add walking on sand...barefooted? Well, fah-ged-a-boud-it.
But Jim views everything as an Olympic competition, so he was becoming increasingly frustrated with our stop-and-smell-the-roses...or, stop-and-pick-up-the-seashells approach to our "walk."
We ended up parting ways pretty quickly. Jim continued on his focused, fast-paced 3 mile walk, and Joshua and I went maybe a quarter of a mile, turned around and walked back. He picked up several pretty shells along the way. We saw some birds, admired a sand-castle, saw a boat in the distance...and talked about how powerful the waves were.
Joshua's main concerns at the ocean every.single.time.we.go is SHARKS. I told him that it was too cold for sharks, and that Spring Break is not shark season.
Don't judge me. I was just trying to calm my big man's fears. I have no idea when "shark season" is, or even if there is such a thing...and I don't know what temperature is good for sharks. I prefer not to even think about it, thank you very much.
After a fun day at the beach, we all came in and got ready for dinner. Jim likes to eat with the old people, so he was chomping at the bit...rushing everyone out the door at the ripe, ol' time of 4:30 IN THE AFTERNOON.
We went to the Original Oyster House and Seafood Restaurant in Gulf Shores on the first night. It's one of our favorite places. The food is usually very good, and, with a party of 8...it really was good to get there early (just don't tell Jim, because it will go to his head). We only had to wait about 10 minutes or so. There are several cute shops connected to the restaurant and right in this shopping area, so after we finished our meal, the GIRLS shopped, while the GUYS waited outside for us.
AS IT SHOULD BE.
AMEN.
It was during our dinner that I happened to notice that Joshua was still wearing his wristband.
When we checked into our condo, they gave us 8 wristbands...one for each person. The bands identified us as belonging to our condo complex, and we were supposed to wear them the whole time we were there...to get us into the gym or the tennis court or any of the pools...or the lazy river.
I knew it was going to be a problem. Joshua doesn't "do" wristbands, along the same lines that "Joey doesn't share food!"
If you've never watched the show, "FRIENDS," then you don't know what I'm talking about.
But, sitting in the Original Oyster House, and looking down at the band on Joshua's wrist...I was convinced that we'd turned a corner. My man-child was growing up.
After we left there, we headed to the "shark" store to walk around. If you've ever been to Gulf Shores, you know what I'm talking about. We just walked around for a few minutes. I am always worried we will run out of sunscreen, so I bought two extra cans of it, just in case...and I paid approximately 400% more than what I paid at my local Wal-Marks before we left.
We came back to the condo, and I made "wop" cookies. You know...the kind in a roll that you wop out on the counter, roll into balls and bake. It's a tradition that we make them every night while we're at the beach...and you know the old saying, "we can't buck tradition can we?"
Answer: No, no we can't.
Even if we've just eaten ice-cream.
"You silence the roar of the seas..." Psalm 65: 7
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