to be a child again

Hours outside, scraped knees, learning how to ride a bike. 

Listening to dad read Charlotte's Web before I could read for myself. Is that where my love of good books began? 

Saving pennies to buy a trampoline. Picking potato bugs and dunking them in gas contained in a metal coffee tin. Walking out the driveway (it seemed so long) to be picked up for school. Exploring the corn fields and barnyard and sheds of the farmhouse property where most of my memories lie. 

Social evenings where the adults had staff meeting or quartet singing, playing outside in the dark with childhood friends.

In my mind I can still see 3 of my siblings as newborn babies. By the time the youngest came along I was old enough to be her part time mom. 

Time seemed infinite back then. Summers felt as long as an entire year does now. As a child, I wanted to speed up time. All too soon, I reached an age where I long to freeze time and realize how precious childhood was.

I catch glimpses of myself at that age when I'm with my nieces and nephews. I don't want them to grow up and become adults with responsibilities and heartaches. I want my parents to be here forever for me to lean on.

If heaven is a place where dreams finally do come true, my dream is this: to be a child again.

Outer Banks weekend

What a lovely Easter weekend we had in Beaufort, North Carolina! 

My whole family stayed at a beautiful house (see listing here) which turned out to be even better than the pictures!

Located along the intracoastal waterway, we had our own private beach area where the children had a blast playing in the sand and swimming. Called "Adams Creek" this bit of water and sand was just the right distance from the house - not too close that we had to worry about the younger children. Friday was a glorious sunny day and I spent most of the day sitting along the water, soaking in the beauty and relaxing.

I honestly think this is as close as you'll get to Heaven on earth. Surrounded by those who are dearest, in a gorgeous setting, on a perfect sunny day. There's nothing better! 

Saturday we took the ferry to Cape Lookout with a large group of uncles, aunts, and cousins. Our group filled the entire boat! On the way out we saw dolphins, and in the distance, wild horses. 

After landing at Cape Lookout, we were shuttled in ATV's several miles down the beach to an area known for lots of seashells. Our group of 43 had rented 2 ATV's, which held 6 people each, so some of us decided to start walking.

I wish I would've measured how far we ended up walking but it must have been getting close to 2 miles. Walking barefoot in the sand was so invigorating we declined all offers of a ride until near the end. The map below shows our route from Harkers Island by ferry to Cape Lookout. The area where we went shelling is at the point of the island - see arrow.

The water was shallow for a long way and some of our group waded out, others walked along the shore, and eventually everyone made their way to the snacks. 😊 It was incredible how many shells come in with every wave! Although most of them are broken, between all of us we ended up with some nice conch shells and a sand dollar. It had been cloudy all day, and began looking stormy after awhile so the process of getting everyone back to the ferry landing started. We were among the last to leave, and started walking back while waiting for our ride. The sand was soft, making walking harder, there were children with us, and rain was starting to fall. The surf was getting wilder as the wind picked up, and everyone on the beach left. There's absolutely no place to shelter out there, so it was definitely an experience! Thankfully most of the ladies and children made it back before the heavy rain started. We waited it out under a pavilion and by the time our ferry came the sun was shining again!

Easter Sunday we drove 1.5 hours to attend church and have lunch with uncles, aunts, and cousins. It was tiring but worthwhile to worship together and eat a delicious ham dinner with family we don't often see!

We got back to our Beaufort house in time to spend a last few minutes by the water. I wanted to stay there and not have to face the piles of laundry and work catch-up back home. But as my dad says, "All good things must come to an end so more good things can begin"!