We’ve come from the water.

Our week in Ocean City was fast and furious. Rather than recount the days hour by hour I thought I’d give you a few highlights and regrets.

Highlight #1 Up at the crack of dawn
My favorite part of each day was the wee hours of the morning when Mark, Noah and I would take a stroll to avoid waking up the other house guests. We watched the sunrise, got coffee, went to the laundrymat, and greeted the towns other early birds – parents, seniors and joggers. It was peaceful and soothing to be out in the world making the most of the day while everyone else was nestled in their beds.

Regret #1 Up at the crack of dawn.
While I loved being up in the morning, I hated how tired it made me the rest of the day. Beach days always make me groggy, but sleep deprived beach days are downright exhausting.

Highlight #2 The young man and the sea
The first two days at the beach Noah was cautious and pensive. He was instantly in love with the crowds and the seagulls, but he was definitely daunted by the sand and sea. He clung to my bathing suit with a vice-like grip. On day three, as if awoken to a revelation Noah took off in the sand, crawling straight for the ocean. He wanted to be awash in the waves, savoring the sand. He adored the beach and may be making plans to live out his days in a hut on the dunes as I type.

Regret #2 The young man and the lady
Noah was once again afraid of Bella. He cried almost every time she touched him or made a peep. He jumped when she made a sudden noise or movement. He was terrified of her and it was heartbreaking. At first I thought it would pass quickly, but it lasted Monday through Thursday. And it had me pretty depressed because I so look forward to Noah and Bella starting a lifelong friendship. I was also looking forward to watching my boy enjoy his beach week so watching him be afraid and sad really hurt my spirit. I’m happy to say that by Thursday night he was over it – but for those couple of days in between I felt a low.

Highlight #3 The weather
Despite projected reports of a week of clouds and thundershowers we had excellent weather and made it to the beach for a bit every day.

Regret #3 The weather
Katrina was devastating. So much sadness. So much destruction. So many bad political decisions. Mark and I will be making a donation to The Red Cross.

Highlight #4 Our village
It’s so nice to have a houseful of loving hearts and hands to mind your child. It is one of the biggest assets to traveling with friends and family – you can each take turns minding the store so everyone can get some alone time. And I couldn’t have picked a better bunch of people with which to share my vacation.

Regret #4 Not enough alone time
I got away from Noah three times in the week while we were gone. Once to go grocery shopping. Once out for an extraordinary dinner for Mark’s birthday at 4th Street Café. And once for an hour on the beach with my mom. I had hoped to get some alone time with Patrice and some alone time alone, but there just weren’t enough hours in the day. Coupled with the fact that I am one very clingy mom who has a hard time asking for alone time because I enjoy being with Noah so much. But it can be taxing to realize that being a mom is a full-time job and there is no real vacation even when you are on vacation.

Despite a few tiny regrets it was a truly wonderful getaway. We all had the post-vacation blues when we got home on Saturday. Even Noah was out of sorts. Luckily we had a picnic at my Dad’s to look forward to on Sunday. The sun was shining, the kids were playing and my Dad was manning the grill. It was fun.

Mark has to go back to work tomorrow and I don’t want to let him go. The house is full of half folded laundry and half unpacked bags. But I’d rather have us all go to the zoo and pretend we’re still away. Oh well, if you vacationed all the time you’d have nothing to vacation from. Right?