It's about time I filled you in on Friendcation Three: Return of the Return of the Friendcation. This year we were in Waves, on the Southern part of the Outer Banks. Our crew changed up a bit, but we ended up with the usual four moms and seven kids. Living and playing and eating together all week. It is the most soul-refreshing thing I do all year.
Because this:
It takes us about four hours to get to the beach, and you can't see the ocean until you're practically in it because of the sand dunes, so there is a considerable buildup of anticipation. Park the car, wait for everyone to arrive, and RUN. TO. THE. SEA. I love this part of the week more than I can explain.
I'm also the volunteer coordinator of Sunrise on the Beach, an annual tradition wherein I take any willing friends to watch the sun break the horizon over the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean. I sit and take in the dawn with these people I love. This life is incredible.
We broke bread together.
And swam, and swam, and swam.
We played, and played, and played.
We took the always-painful trip to Ocracoke Island, where we ate, went to a Blackbeard museum, and left the Island AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE OH MY GOD WHY DO WE GO TO OCRACOKE EVERY YEAR.
 |
| This is what Evelyn thinks of the Ocracoke Ferry. It doesn't even have wings. What kind of fairy is this? |
We slept...
We did science experiments...
And we did it all again.
Walt Whitman says, "I have learned that to be with those I like is enough." That's what beach week is for all of us. We delight in one another's company.
That's a big deal. I'll say it again.
We delight in one another's company.
Not just "the moms" (as we're known all week to the gaggle of children), but everyone. I have fun hanging out with the kids. They have fun with each other and with the moms. So on and so forth, all the permutations. We share everything, encourage each other, laugh and cry and talk about quantum physics and scream Bohemian Rhapsody to the stars, floating in the pool at midnight. We live deep and suck the marrow out of life. We leave so full of love. We remember that we're loved, and valued, and fun and funny and fundamentally good people. All of us.
Comments