Summer Memories

Me and my dad, California 1982

Growing up in Southern California with a beach-loving set of parents made for some great summer memories of days on the shore.

Do you remember in grade school when right in the middle of a boring lesson (probably a math lesson) the classroom phone would ring and your teacher would put everything on hold to answer it? All the kids in the class would have their fingers crossed hoping the call would be for them because more times than not it meant your parent was waiting to take you out of school for the day?

I loved being the one envied by my classmates as I packed my stuff up while they had to sit and learn their multiplication facts.

If my dad was the parent in the attendance office waiting to pick me and my 2 sisters up, I knew exactly what we were up to.

But I had to play it cool because the attendance receptionist didn't know where we were headed.

You see, my dad would pick us up early from school when the sun was warm and the surf report was good but he would tell the attendance office that the 3 of his daughters had "an appointment".

And he never considered it lying- which is funny, seeing as though my dad is super honest and cannot lie to save his life.

In his mind, he just didn't tell the whole truth. We did have an appointment. An appointment with our dad.

We would spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach, digging holes in the sand, boogie boarding in the ocean, and making memories.

Since moving to Phoenix in 2005, the thing I miss most about living in California is the lazy summer days spent at the beach.

A couple years ago we were at the beach and my daughter, who was 4 at the time, dipped her little toes in the ocean waves and then came running back to the shore and exclaimed, "Mom, there is SAND in the ocean!" She was shocked.

But I guess when you are used to swimming in pools without sand in them, this would be pretty amazing!

I'm grateful for the memories I have of days spent in the warm summer sun with salty cheeks and sandy hair.