Spring Break 2007 --The Pines

Sigh, spring break is just not what it use to be. I guess I just need to forget those days before I had kids and use to go to the beach with my friends because it is never going to be like that again. But if I try I can find some spring break traditions that even with kids do continue. It is all about looking at the world a little differently, that's all.

So yeah, the kids and I went to Hilton Head Island for spring break. We stayed in The Pines. No, MTV wasn't there and PC Beach it was not (okay, I am thankful for that) and no there was no Club La Vela or wet t-shirt contest or keg stands but somethings do remain spring break staples even if you have kids. Like . . .

Getting a tattoo.

Sure it was press on but I press really hard so it kinda hurts. At one of the restaurants a woman asked me about mine. I just had TNMT and she said at first she thought it was real. Ninja turtles are totally tough.

Drinking and fighting.


Then there was the vomiting--another staple from my high school and college spring breaks. Okay so it was from a stomach bug not from drinking too much. But Beau, like any good ole drunken frat boy does, vomited in his bed and then didn't bother to wake up and just slept in it and then was particularly belligerent when I found said vomit and forced him into the shower.

Then there was the public nudity and lewdness.Again, Beau. He said Mommy, I have to pee. Okay honey go over behind the dune and be discreet. Apparently, unlike his sister, Beau missed out on the gene of discretion and modesty.
And that brings me to the gene of good sense-which Beau is also missing. I can already tell that when he is older and goes on spring break with his friends he will be the "Hey, guys watch this!" one of the group.

We had awesome weather while we were at the beach-- 85 degrees and sunny almost everyday. But it was breezy and the water was still very, very cold. Beau however did not care. The house we rented also had a pool. First day we were there Beau, unlike his sister who cautiously eased into the pool and tested out the water, just jumped right in. He bobbed up and I could tell by the "Oh Shit" look on his face that he realized that maybe he didn't know how to swim. He does know how to swim as he started swimming pretty well last summer but it has been 9 whole months since he has tested out those skills. He looked at me and I yelled "SWIM!" And he put his face down in the water and swam to the steps. After that he was a bit more cautious in the pool but for some reason not in the ocean.

So Beau is 3 right? He seems not to get that he is not the best swimmer in the world. Nonetheless everyday he tried to wade out in the ocean in water way over his head. This meant that I divided my time in the freezing ass water and hauling a screaming Beau out of the water across the beach to our chairs so that we could warm our hypothermic asses up.

I really love that no matter where we go or what we do Beau is familiar to every stranger. Everyone knows his name. People would walk by and say "Hi Beau!' And Beau would smile and say hi and then happily explain that "I know that guy!" Uhm no, no you don't.

And not to be out done by Beau's theatrics Carmella did some tricks too. Though certainly less life threatening than Beau's and thankfully, certainly less embarrassing for me.

Unlike Beau Carmella did have the good sense to stay out of the water.

She tried it out and decided that is was way too cold and spent everyday building sandcastles. She wisely delegated Beau water boy.
Only problem was that he would get distracted--I guess maybe he heard the call of the sea--and would desert the bucket and his mission and wade out. This is where I got lots of speed work in sprinting the 25 yards to the ocean from my chair to rescue him.

See, Ryan couldn't join us on our spring break as he is super busy at work and just couldn't take the time off. And we --I mean me-- sorely missed him. Going to the beach with young children without the aid of your spouse is exhausting. You are on call 24/7 without a moments respite. And even though the kids and I went to Hilton Head with my parents, sister and brother and his wife and my nephew Duncan I didn't have the tons of help that you think I would. I don't know what happened to my parents when they crossed over into South Carolina but you'd think they were from Michigan--not born and raised in South Georgia-- or from some place where the only time you might see an alligator is in a zoo. They spent the whole trip playing crocodile hunter. The only way we could even get Lala out of bed before 10am was to tell her that Allen, the alligator that lived in the lagoon behind our house, was out.


So to deal with the added stress of being a newly single parent for the week I compensated by drinking lots of Corona light and wine. Somethings are holy spring break traditions that you just don't mess with. Sure, drinking a lot while caring for 2 young children doesn't make it any easier but it sure makes you feel better about it and you don't notice so much the freezing ass water.

My parents were not completely unhelpful. They did watch the kids in the morning so I could run for an hour. Running on the shady flat bike trails is pretty awesome. After all those hills at ING I felt like I was flying. I was actually passing people on their bikes. Too bad Garmin wasn't working (too many trees) but I felt like I was doing 7-7:30 miles on every run.


Spring break wasn't exactly a break for me but it was fun and it was nice to play at the beach for a week. I mean you wouldn't have to twist my arm to go back.