We were supposed to spend today with friends, but our plans fell through. When I told Annalie yesterday she said, “Oh, that’s too bad. I was really looking forward to it.” I suggested that maybe we could go to the beach instead. Annalie’s face brightened and she said, “We can do that? REALLY!?”

I said, “Of course we can! We live in Southern California now, in a beach town!” Suffice it to say, she was very excited and pretty much forgot we ever had plans to do anything else. She immediately started gathering up her beach toys and planning which swimsuit to wear and which towel to take.

Annalie has always liked playing in the sand at the beach but never wanted to go near the water. We lived by Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and frequented a beach that had plenty of sand and very gentle waves. We used to try to get Annalie to wade with us, but she preferred to stay up close to the grass, far away from the scary water. We never pushed her, figuring she’d be ready in her own time.

Considering her recent nonchalance towards the skyride and the petting zoo, I shouldn’t have been surprised when she was willing to walk into the water with me. I was rather surprised, especially that she didn’t have to be coaxed. She happily said, “Sure!” when I suggested getting our feet wet.

She continued to surprise me by being willing to go a bit further out, where the tide came rushing up past our ankles. Then she even let go of my hand!

Of course, immediately after I took those photos she was reaching out to grab my swimsuit, but still. It’s a first step! I guess I don’t really want her to be too fearless at this point. I just want her to enjoy the beach. And she certainly did that today.

As a matter of fact, we both enjoyed it! I had forgotten how much I love the beach in summer. Walking along the hot sand and wading in the ocean today was familiar in a really wonderful way. When we lived here a decade ago we didn’t go to the beach often, but we went often enough that it wove itself into the fabric of our lives and memories here. It felt so good to be at the beach today, in the sun, in the salt water, in the sand, showing my daughter the sand dollars and the kelp.

When we lived in Virginia Beach six years ago, we started a tradition of going to the beach with friends every Sunday for dinner. They’d bring the Taco Bell tacos, we’d bring dessert and the pop, and we’d swim and talk and play. Their kids were 4 and 6 at the time, and we’d fly kites with them or draw pictures in the sand or build castles with moats. On those warm summer evenings we usually had the beach to ourselves and didn’t have to worry about getting sunburned. Sometimes we’d go to Krispy Kreme afterwards and share a box of hot glazed donuts before going home. I have such good memories of those times on the beach. I want Annalie to have memories like that. So I think we might start a beach tradition of our own here. I think we’re off to a good start.