June 6, 1999

One of the things I enjoy is going to the beach. I haven't been a whole lot sense gaining weight but this weekend we went to the Gulf twice. In my skinny days, when my breasts were perky and I had the body of model, I would spend my weekends and summers at the beach partying. Now I'm a mother who breastfed almost two years and my hips will never be the same. I think I'm over being the perfect babe and didn't feel like a cow in swimsuit while I was there.

Saturday morning hubby and I got up early, packed the car, and woke Wild Child up and headed down to the Gulf. My bathing suit had one of those shop lifting devices on it so I had to drop by the store and get it taken off. I changed while hubby drove down the interstate into my suit and he acted very paranoid. This is the man who wanted us to have sex in the backyard.

The beach wasn't crowded at all. The water was calm and it was cloudy so the sun was radiating as much heat as it usually does. I bathed Wild Child in SPF30 and put her into her suit. She loved playing in the sand and had no fear of the water. She just plunged right in and laughed when the breaking waves knocked her down. Jeff was terrified she was going to drown, even though I insisted that we were perfectly safe. The water was so calm that she even allowed us to lay her on her back and teach her to float over the waves.

After a few hours we decided to pack up and head home. Wild Child didn't want to leave but we promised we would bring her back. The day was going perfectly. We stopped at a hot dog stand on the way home and got hot dogs and drinks, listened to classic rock nearly blaring and took our time getting back. I even persuaded Jeff into stopping at the Farmer's Market where I bought fresh fruits and veggies. Once at home we crashed and even while I napped I felt like I was still in the water floating.

We also went to the Gulf on Sunday afternoon. I was bored and didn't want to sit at home so I begged Jeff to let's head out to the beach again. It was 3o'clock in the afternoon, but he amused me and we packed up and went. This time the water was rougher, almost like the water was angry slamming against the shore. This time we mostly played on the beach and watched other families fly kites. The atmosphere was peaceful and relaxing. I sat at the waters edge collecting shells while Jeff and Wild Child built a sand castle. Occasionally we would go to the waters edge, just deep enough to hit around the knees and played "swoop the baby" as waves washed in. Wild Child has no fear and loved being tossed into the waves, laughing and repeating "more". I really didn't want to go home and we stayed almost till dark. There is something about the beach and the water that makes me feel at one with the earth.

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