Hi, we’re back from the beach. Oh, I didn’t mention that we went to the beach? That’s because I subscribe to that whole theory about not telling the internet when you leave your house empty except for your mother and your tiny dog. And because I recently read The Unwired Mom by Sarah Mae and decided not to instagram/facebook/twitter while we were gone and to just spend time with my little family.
(I did coerce Jeff into letting me take some pictures with my nice camera on the beach though.)
This was our first vacation since we’ve got married over six years ago. Besides trips to visit family, the last time we went on vacation was our honeymoon, y’all. So I’m not sure if I can properly express just how excited I was to take this trip.
I had it planned down to every last detail. We were going to leave early on a Friday morning for a travel writing job that I had booked and then head down to the beach from there. Except instead, that Friday morning landed us in the emergency room with a baby that was having a hard time breathing.
Scarlette’s fever climbed to 104 degrees, which was the highest that it has ever been. I don’t know about y’all but all that I could think about was that one Baby Sitter’s Club Book (Book Number 4: Mary Anne Saves The Day) in which Jenny Prezzioso runs a 104 degree fever and Mary Anne has to call an ambulance and it’s a good thing that she did because Jenny had strep throat and needed medical attention stat. Or something. What, you don’t relate all of life’s sticky situations to the plot of a Baby Sitter’s Club book? Because I definitely do. Obviously.
In all seriousness, I couldn’t get her fever to stay down with medication and her heartbeat was too fast, her breaths too hard fought. One thing a six month NICU stay teaches you is what retractions look like and how many wet diapers your kid should have before you have to worry about dehydration. I have battle scars of medical knowledge. After the requisite x-rays and fluids we went home to rest and I sent apologetic cancellation emails.
Once she was on the mend we decided to go ahead and make the trip to the beach with the schedule a bit delayed because we thought the fresh ocean air might do Scarlette some good. And basically, who doesn’t deserve to build sand castles and search for shells after a stint in the ER?
It might surprise you to learn that apparently, Scarlette is not even the least little bit afraid of the ocean. Just kidding, that surprises exactly no one. In fact, her idea of a good time was to scare the pants off of her mother by yelling “MARK SHET GO!” and running headfirst into gigantic waves without stopping. Or laying face down in the tide to let a wave break over her body and then stand up spluttering and shrieking “YAY DA WATER GET ME!” She still had dark eyes and a shaky cough but it was good for her and for us.
I don’t know what it is about the ocean that makes me feel the goodness of God, maybe the majesty of a such a vast expanse of water that stretches out to meet the horizon or the somber reminder of how small we are in the swift crashing of the waves or the sight of my daughter splashing in its foam. I walked along the shore each morning at sunrise and as the brilliant light shone down on the saltwater slipping over my bare feet agreed that His love is indeed like an ocean. Forever overflowing.
(Quote is from this song, which I love. My recommendation for Sarah’s book is my amazon affiliate link, but I recommend it whether you use my referral link or not!)
