Progression of the Beach Day

I am fortunate to have always lived near the Atlantic Ocean.  My parents’ childhood included regular trips to the beach in the summer and they took me often enough to cement that love in my life.  My earliest memory of the beach, I was about 5, we were in Wildwood with some of my older cousins.  We spent the entire time in the water jumping waves and hanging out in the swells, it was a glorious day!  When I was eleven we moved to the Wildwoods and I gained unlimited beach access!  During my teens, it was grabbing a towel and a book and head to the beach with some friends. I traveled light in those days.  Once I became a mom, traveling light went out the window.  Diaper bag, sunscreen, umbrella, towels, toys, snacks, drinks, and so on.  No more impromptu trips, beach days looked like a well-planned beach assault, how long were we going, what to bring, and where to park.  In my early mom day’s beach wagons were not a thing, by the time the younger two came around we had added not one but two to the arsenal.  As the girls have gotten older getting to the beach has become easier once they started to help pack and carry our supplies.  We did not get to the beach last year so it is a priority for this summer.  Our first beach day for this season was earlier this week.  We took along a friend for the youngest and this left me time to sit, no constant calls of “mom come in the water with me” or “ come play in the sand.”  It was very liberating but also I felt a bit sad.  I thought about when the girls were younger and needing to keep such a watchful eye on them that bringing a book was out of the question, let alone taking a nap.  This day there was no request to play in the sand and only a couple of requests to join them in the water.  So I read and napped and only ventured slightly out into the water.  As I looked around and saw parents with small children, I missed that stage when the beach was new and exciting for my little ones but on the other hand, there is a new dynamic to our beach time.  We took the time to sit and talk, we unplugged from the every day and enjoyed each other’s company, we made up new games while we people watched, and have new memories to hold on to.  It is easy to become sad over the loss of the way things were and it is alright to pause there momentarily and remember those times, but do not get stuck there and miss out on what is in front of you and the opportunity to make new memories.  What is your earliest memory of the beach? Please tell me about it in the comments.