Last Day at the Beach

Two days ago there was a wind storm and the waves were and powerful. That was pretty exciting, but they knocked us down so hard. Yesterday, the waves were calmer, but still harsh. I was able to get out beyond the break and swim for a while, but when I tried again, I was knocked head over heals too much and did not make it back. Today, our last day at the beach, the waves were much calmer and I got out beyond where the waves were breaking and swam for an hour. Ruth, Kate, and Johnny joined me and Ruth stayed with me the whole time. I LOVED IT! I loved having my kids swim with and I loved teaching them to body serf the waves. Most of all, I just loved swimming in the ocean.

I don't think of myself as someone with much stamina. When I swim in a pool, I get bored after about 10 laps, so it surprised me that I was out in the waves for so long knowing full well that I could easily stay another hour. I think if we moved into a house on the beach, I would be in a lot better physical shape because exercise would be joyous. But John and I need to take turns watching the kids, so I got out and took my little ones who had been hiding under a blanket for an hour home to a hot shower.

For those of you who are wondering if it is warm enough to swim in December, the people of North Carolina would tell you NO! We saw about 3 or 4 other people plus some wind surfers the whole week we were here. On Christmas day, people kept taking pictures of my kids swimming in the ocean in North Carolina on Christmas day, so it was definitely a novelty. But for us, it really wasn't that bad. I grew up close to the beaches in Maine and the water here in December was definitely warmer than the water in Maine in August. We spent one to three hours each day on the beach and went in getting completely soaked every day except Sunday.

We did get lucky, though. If the air was much cooler, we would not have gone swimming so much. Fortunately, the East Coast had record breaking warm weather this week. Most days, the temperature stayed around 70. It rained a few times, but never all day and mostly at night. Tomorrow, when we leave the temperature is supposed to drop back down to a normal 50 to 55 degrees. Yes, I think we have been blessed.