Da Beach!

Well, so far I stink at updating this blog.  Good thing no one's reading it!  But I don't want to forget our week at the beach.
I planned this trip (starting in September) to get through the very depressing grayness of Cleveland winter.  Yes, I start worrying about that in September!  Now it's May and I'm using this remembrance as a coping mechanism on yet another gray windy, rainy Cleveland day.  Living by Lake Erie is a double edged sword: summer and fall are warm and wonderful but spring stinks because the lake keeps us colder longer. Anyway, today is one of those days.  Westlake, 1 mile south is probably 10 degrees warmer! Crazy!

I'll make this brief and skip the drama of trying to find a family to go with us and our decision to go crazy and stay for a whole week instead of being cheap and responsible and only stay for 4 nights.  In hindsight, we wished we'd booked for 2 weeks instead! Next year!

We left Good Friday after the ecumenical service Andy performs with the Bay ministerial.  He acts like it's an obligation, but secretly he loves it!  So at 3:00 p.m. (what's the point in having the day off of school when you leave that late, I do not know!) we piled in the overstuffed van and headed south.  At 8:00-ish we were in Cinci and stopped at our dear friends', the Putnicks, house coincidentally during Casey's 5th birthday party!  Bonus! Got to see many dear friends! All of which have ties to Port St. Joe, FL.  A fitting time for this reunion.  I need more Cinci time, it was NOT enough!  Took a cute pic of all our kids together, Putnick, Hoblitzell and Reid kids in order of height.  Summer was ticked because slowly she is figuring out that she is growing at a much slower rate than other people her age. I don't know the cause yet.

When we actually arrived at the beach we were just overcome with gratitude. All the planning, waiting, fearing that something would interrupt the plan.  But it really is happening and it's better than we imagined! The house is huge and seriously right on the beach! The interior was even better!  That never happens! But Port St Joe is this little-known corner of the world so they have great rental rates and the people there are really proud of their community so everything really is that nice!

The house is actually on Cape San Blas which is like a peninsula that faces north off the coast. (in the panhandle of FL) St. Joe State Park sits at the end of the Cape and is where the aforementioned college friends and I used to go camping.  Amazing sugar white sand beaches with no one around.

Day 2 was Easter so we painted eggs our first night there.  Easter morning each kid found lots of plastic eggs with candy and money.  Then they proceeded to spend that money at the Trading Post conveniently located at the end of our drive. I think the independence that allowed the kids was one of their favorite parts of the week. "I'm going to the store, mom!" Crazy grown up fun!

We got plenty of sun on our first day, mainly I blame the crappy spray sunscreen.  It only lasted a day and it totally did not work on my kids.  I'm always afraid they'll get cancer later in life because of that one sunburn they got when they were 7!  No complaints however!  The weather was beach-worthy every day. Some days were quite windy: inside outing umbrellas, blowing away kites and inner tubes,  nice big waves, generally adding to the adventure but never keeping us indoors.  There were tornados in Alabama and power outages in Ohio, but we were oblivious!  The biggest storm really just made this cool situation on the beach:  quick sand!  "All other ground is sinking sand" kept running through my mind.  Now I know what that means!

We went shopping and to lunch in Port St Joe on our last day.  There is a nice new play area right on the Bay and a cool fishing gazebo place where we hunted for big crabs and took pictures.  I am ever on the hunt for the Christmas card picture, so the girls were dressed in new matching dresses and posing for me every step of the way. I'm lucky no one killed me because I really didn't even get the perfect picture.  I got it back on the beach when they were relaxed and having fun. Imagine that!

Our friends-for-life-once-you've-lived-together are the Lambies: Becky, Jason, Zach, Jake, Mikayla, and Jessie.  They really were all happy but with 7 kids it's impossible to get them all smiling at once!

So, what did I learn?  I learned through "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper that our joyful living actually glorifies God and magnifies his goodness to the world.  And through reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's biography by Metaxus (sp?) that religion is worthless without Christ.  That standing up for God sometimes means going against the grain. That you can be joyful in all circumstances and that living in community means focusing on Christ, Scriptures, and prayer.  God wants us to desire the good things in life even though this life is passing away. It's not a waste of time, we live in this world because He created it and it is good. It's not just a waiting period before we get to the real life with Him.  Gross oversimplification of that book.  I'm not done with it yet.

I learned that our family needs this grown up time, just us, where we make decisions based on the good of our relationships, not just based on what someone else wants us to do. I got to see my husband genuinely glad. Doing what he desires, playing, laughing, having fun and truly relaxed.  We could've used a second week and it was kind of painful to leave.  My heart aches for that place again, geographically and mentally.

I'm 37 and I'm still learning to separate my life from our families'.  My parents are playing a smaller and smaller part in my life, which is painful but necessary.  Pleasing them and converting them are becoming a smaller part of my thinking.  I miss them. But they don't want to be a big part of my life so I have to accept that.  They've heard the Truth that would set them free but they choose bondage. I guess in some way I accept that, but I'm glad Jesus doesn't.  He pursues them relentlessly.  They are precious to Him and He's calling them Home.  I hope to meet them there someday.  My hope remains.
I think Andy is learning to separate his desires from his parents. I know his dad is gone, but his desires still weigh heavily on everyone in his family.  It's tough living with that "ghost" and that of his Grandmother.  Guilt weighs heavily on him, his sister and mom, even about decisions about vacation.  Which plays a part in planning our next excursion: Disney World.  There is a fine line between keeping memories alive and living by presumed expectations.  I hope when I'm gone my kids are free from guessing what I'd want them to do.  God's will, that all!  Obedience and submission to Him, not me!

Side note over!  We made the most of our trip and even left a good impression!

We will go back if not in 2012 then soon thereafter.  I don't know if you can duplicate this kind of trip but it's going to be fun trying!