By the sea

PICT1885, originally uploaded by your neighborhood librarian.

I think I have Senioritis. School for the Big Man ends tomorrow at 1pm, and first thing Saturday morning we are going TO THE BEEEEEEEACH!

Oh my god I am looking forward to this. Vacations have changed quite a bit now that there are kids. Used to be, Bob and I would jaunt off to a place where English is not the primary language, run ourselves ragged, soak up new experiences, and come home loaded with wacky knicknacks and intestinal parasites, exhilarated.

Now, we go to the beach. And at the beach, we let the kids watch TV, eat snacks, stay up late (although they don't), and Bob and I allow ourselves to eat snacks, sit while they play, shop, read, etc. We also make sure the beer doesn't run out. This kind of indulgence - that's not what vacations used to be about. We didn't used to have so many rules in our lives.

As an added bonus, Cousin Stretch and her parents are joining us. In addition, Aunties Jane, Mary, Patsy, Theresa, Uncle Joe, and Cousin Althea are joining us. That is a LOT of my husband's family, let me tell you. Auntie Nancy might show up too. We will have TEN adults for the THREE children, and I am LOVING the sound of that ratio!

Before we go, I have an unmanageable stack of errands to perform. A gauntlet of prescriptions, shopping, laundry, and housework I have to run. But once I am done those things, look for me on a beach chair with a stack of Juvenile fiction by my side. And a margarita - oh, send me your margarita recipe if you have a good one.