Summertime is for making memories with family

by Dr. Heather Bozant Witcher

By Dr. Heather Bozant Witcher, Young Adults
Clarion Herald

"I want to go in the big water!” my middle child screamed with delight as he stood on the beach while the waves lapped his legs.

Just last year, he had stood hesitantly on the shore, running backward when the waves hit. That is, until the very last day, when he boldly asked his father if he would carry him into the ocean.

For the past three years, we have been blessed with the opportunity to visit the beach – thanks to the generosity of my husband’s godparents. Last year, I began a yearly summer album for my mother-in-law, and I ordered a second copy for myself.

Those memories are quite clear now, though I know they won’t remain so; hence, the albums.
I can easily recall our first visit to the beach: the twins in their life jackets sitting happily on the sand, collecting seashells. Not much activity, except sand and the occasional visit to the pool.

The second year brought more activity for the twins: they were better at going nearer the water and began building sand castles and using shovels to dig tunnels to “faraway places.”

Meanwhile, their younger brother was content to sit in the sand, feeling its cool coarseness between his feet.

This year, though, has been the most fun. Having been in swim lessons most of the year, the twins were largely unafraid of the Gulf of Mexico. Running along the hardened, wet shore, they played – tagging each other to go into the waves, only knee-deep, of course.

My youngest was the most confident in the sand, under an umbrella, surrounded by his pail and shovels, and, most importantly, snacks. Occasionally, he asked for one of us to hold his hand so he could feel the water lap his feet. As soon as it did, he started backing up and very quickly said it was time to go back.

When they returned to daycare the following week, their teachers asked about their beach trip. Unsurprisingly, the twins shared their enthusiasm and the fun they had going into the ocean with dad; sitting in the waves with mom; fishing and building sand castles with their younger brother.

The director of the school called me to share the humor she found in my youngest child’s response: “He very promptly told me, ‘No,’ when I asked him if he had fun at the beach,” she told me. He was, apparently, very matter-of-fact. Only later, after processing it, he shared that he did have fun: he liked holding hands with mom and dad in the water, as long as the waves didn’t knock him down, and he especially liked his pool day with “Grammy.”

These are the memories I hope they’ll hold onto: the unabashed delight and joy in the sun and sand; the family time spent with each other and with grandparents and the overcoming of fears. And with each year, I’ll look back and see their progress and growth.

I smiled and laughed as I chose the perfect picture for each child to place in the album: Pip, laughing and jumping in the shallow waves; Ollie in the “big water” with dad; and Syd, in his purple dinosaur float, lounging in the shallow end of the pool.

hbozantwitcher@clarionherald.org