Vacation Enthusiasm

Vacation is all I ever wanted. Vacation — have to get away.

The Go-Gos

We like to wait till the last week of summer for our vacation. It gives us something to enjoy before the return of the routine. Anyway, my family and I are on vacation at the Jersey Shore (no television cameras in sight).  Family vacations with young children are judged by different standards. Relaxation is out.  Get real. Go, go, go is in. That going has been lots of fun.

I have a confession. Please don’t go to the authorities. My children are destroying our environment. Not very The Lorax of them.

My children are responsible for beach erosion. BR, in particular, is a mobile sandstorm. He, along with his cousin, built a mountain by the ocean. By the time he left the beach he was covered in sand – so much in his ears I don’t know how he heard – and erosion was occurring.

The oceans are receding. And I know why. SJ loves the ocean. He dives into the waves. He ends up swallowing mouthfuls of water (despite my repeated objections).  It leads to him burping like a frat brother and the recession of the seas.

BR wallowed in the sand. He did not care that it got in every crevice of his body. He did not pay any mind to the itchy annoying feeling created when sand sticks to one’s body. When the water came up and knocked down his mountain of sand, BR neither complained nor yelled. He surveyed the situation and moved back further on to the beach. Shovel in hand, he got to work with a smile on his face.

SJ got knocked down and pushed around by the waves. Each time he got back up, turned around, and headed right back in to the water. The salt water swished into his eyes. He squinted his eyes and rubbed them against my shirt (which was also wet). He prepared for the next wave and smiled.

Isn’t youthful enthusiasm great? The children don’t accept no. Whether it’s their creations getting destroyed or their bodies knocked down, they get back up. They don’t allow anything to stop their fun.

Determination, resilience, and joy. Great, isn’t it! I could certainly learn a lesson from my boys’ youthful enthusiasm.

Couldn’t you?