It’s been almost three weeks of full time living here in Bethany Beach and it is amazing! The house and our family has finally found a rhythm and routine that really works and all of our “projects” are slowly getting completed. That leaves us with nothing but time to really appreciate the solitude and beauty that surrounds us. I can’t describe in words what I have felt and seen in the past three weeks but a list will have to suffice and I can only leave it up to you to imagine it all.
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We have a new pet. His name is “Jackson Storm” and he is a beautiful 4 foot (or more) tall blue heron that sits on our neighbors deck across the canal from us. He spends most of his days there and has no problem with the noise and entertainment coming from our house. Watching this bird is so fun.
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The beach… I have conquered it with three kids on my own and they are so in love with it. Last year, a certain 5 year old would moan everyday about going. Now, she carries her own chair and a bag of books and has so much fun digging, jumping the waves, reading, and playing pretend with her siblings and any new friends they make. It has been such a blessing to watch them grown and develop their love for the beach.
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The water. Greg and I always dreamed of owning a beach house someday and we would always calmly disagree about where it would be. Somehow we found the perfect combination for both of us. We are on a canal and our house is raised up on stilts and surrounded by pine trees. We love the feeling of almost living in a tree house but add in the constant moving water that can be seen from every room in the back of the house and its just incredibly peaceful. The wildlife that we see everyday because of it is so amazing and it really makes you stop and think about how precious life is and how to appreciate it everyday.
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The trolley. The Bethany Beach yellow and blue trolley drives by our house everyday all day and every time someone in our house sees it they yell out “trolley”. There is something so sweet and quaint about it that you can’t help but smile no matter if you are doing the mundane tasks of cleaning or just relaxing. We had an extra special reason to ride the trolley this past week as it was someones birthday. Our little boy turned 4 so I got the crazy idea to take the kids to town for dinner on the beach. We each got our 25 cents and waited at the end of our driveway until we got picked up. I then placed a call to Grottos pizza for pickup while the kids stuck their heads and arms out the windows as we were driven through town. We picked up our pizza, dragged our sand toys, and had a relaxing dinner on the sand. Honestly nothing was better until the trolley picked us up, lulled the kiddos to sleep and dropped us at our door.
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Our deck. It sounds pretty silly but its such an oasis. I have started to line it with flowers and it always has the sun shining on it so it just beckons for the kids and I to live out there. We rigged up the hose for some fun sprinkler parties while I chill on a towel and pray that I don’t get sprayed and can read my book. We eat out there, dance out there, and if the kids have been good they get to stay up with me and watch the sunset and all of the birds head home to their nests for the night.
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Our schedule. Greg has been doing long weekends at the beach and spending the main part of the week at home working to fulfill our dreams. He has been such an inspiration and motivation for the kids and I to keep up with our chores here in Bethany and to really enjoy our family time when it happens. Weekends have become so precious that I think it only takes a quick glance at each other as we hold our kiddos hands down at the oceans edge to realize that this is the best life. Hard work and determination have really begun to pay off.
These are just a few of the reasons why I am constantly in awe of this beautiful life we have chosen and why you might see me tear up every now and then at the amazingness of it all.