I grew up in Upstate NY. We didn’t have beaches, but there were some ponds or lakes for swimming. The idea of swimming with turtles, fish and stinky seaweed in most often deep waters didn’t appeal to me. So I grew up without, the few times I did swim were when visiting highly chlorinated pools. It’s really a wonder that I know how to swim given the real lack of exposure to it, but I do know how to swim. I’m not the most confident of swimmers – but I am not afraid of getting my face wet. I am, however, afraid of going in the ocean.
My first exposure to the ocean and waves was as an adult, my husband and I were vacationing in Hilton Head and on our first day of the vacation I got stung by a jellyfish in the ocean. The remainder of the vacation I spent lounging at the resort pool with the vow to never again enter the ocean. As the saying goes, never say never. A few years later I found myself moving to the Jersey Shore, with kids and the ocean literally in our backyard – ok, its a few miles away (which is pretty darn close). I spent the first few years living in NJ only going to the beach with my husband and never as much getting my feet wet. But my kids demanded more of me. It was time to dive in despite my fears, no matter how rational or irrational they may be.
How could I possibly raise kids at the beach when I was a fish out of water? My son took to the ocean like a fish at the age of three. He has autism and there is something about the waves and the ocean that calls to him. He loves to surf and to be buried in the sand. My 5 year old daughter begs to go to the beach if the sun is out. Summer vacation just started and she is already sporting sunkissed blonde highlights and tan lines despite liberal applications of SPF50. Just yesterday the kids, my kids, started an impromptu beach yoga session together and before I knew it they had drawn a crowd of about a dozen children all in the downward dog position becoming one with the sand and surf. I watched on with a smile on my face and the realization that this is what being a kid at the Jersey Shore is all about. Moments like this one I wish to freeze in time forever.
Truth be told, I love the ocean as much as my kids do even if I’m afraid of the jellyfish.
Original Jersey Moms Blog post by MaryTara. If the sun is out MT can be found at The Bon Bon Gazette, Amblyopiakids.com or the beach.
Wahoo!! The first of the first. A shore post to start us off? Love it. I totally get it. I am a strong swimmer but still have a healthy fear of the ocean. Watching my kids play at the beach brings both wonder and terror on a daily basis. Congrats for sticking it out.
PHOTO taken @ brick beach 3 – my favorite Jersey shore beach.
Great post Mary Tara! Yes, the beautiful beaches of New Jersey are the reason we moved back to my home state after 10 years away. I wanted my children to know and love them as much as I did growing up. There is no place like them!!!!
Little known secret: I can’t swim. Growing up in Colorado, we had large bodies of water — nothing like the Atlantic Ocean — but I never was keen on getting in water past my chest. Swimming pool? Yes. Otherwise? Most definitely NOT.
Good for you that you’re getting out and not hindering your kids because of your fear!