As I was going through pictures yesterday, it occurred to me how many shots I have of all three of my male family members where they are mostly, if not entirely, submerged in a wave. As I’ve mentioned before, we are not merpeople, but we do manage to make the most of the water.
Case in point: I have scads of these, but here are just a few pictures, some the result of mistiming, taken during this last weekend alone.
There’s my youngest boy, the one who’s a little more, well, respectful of the Atlantic’s power. He boogie boards for what seems like forever,
and then suddenly, despite his long-held hesitation, he’s submerged.
There’s my oldest boy, who’s been like this since we moved down here when he was barely two years old.
He’s floating,
and now he’s diving under the waves, again and again.
There’s my man-boy, LCB (Loquacious Cabana Boy: If you’re new here, a giant welcome, and, to make a weak attempt at recap, the name began with this, grew with this, and the rest is, well, as they say).
That’s his arm. I have many, many shots of his arm.
Yes, he’s inside that wave.
Out of respect for my marriage, I won’t post some of his facial expressions I’ve managed to capture.
Well, and also because I know two can (and will) play at that game.
I am new to your blog, and enjoy it because your world is so different from my mid-west world – and I know you understand that difference far more than I do. I am interested to know how you got so comfortable with you kids in the ocean. Any time we travel to an ocean, I hold on to my kids (ages 13 and 14 now) for dear life and never let them in over mid-thigh depth. Seriously. I don’t understand the ocean but would love to be enlightened so that we can embrace the waves rather than fear them.
Welcome! So good to hear from you. And yes, you do raise a valid point. Probably the most important thing we do is to teach them about rip tides, how to watch and feel for them, and what to do if they ever get caught in one. The last few days, because of the storms offshore, the kids have worn their life jackets most of the time. I think it’s a little different, too, because our kids have grown up swimming in the ocean, so they can gauge things like undertow, strength and size of waves, potential rip tides, and the like more than if we had stayed in the Midwest and just vacationed here. Of the three kids, my oldest has the greatest understanding and natural sense of this, so that’s something we keep in mind when they are out there as well.
I guess you need to prep your kids for whatever concerns there are wherever you live. Growing up in Chicago, I remember all the warnings about things like digging tunnels in the snow, skating on thin ice, black ice on the road, and other things you are well familiar with. There’s always something. 🙂
Good to know! When vacationing, we tend to follow the crowds – if everyone is in the water, we feel good about being in the water but if everyone is on the beach even though the water looks fine, we use caution. Never mind that whole “if everyone jumped off a bridge…” thing, I look at it as safety in numbers 🙂
I think everyone does that to some extent, despite what we preach to our kids. 🙂 Some beaches have flags that signal if rip tides are likely that day, which is nice. I usually check the weather reports if I’m not sure, because they’ll usually report something about it if conditions are favorable for rip tides.
My kids enjoy the ocean, but I always worry. Love the pics.
I’m with Eli! My heart beats just a little faster just seeing your boy submerged under the Atlantic. Very smart of you to teach them about currents and tides, though.