The Rite of Passage: The Beach Trip

I was talking to my best friend this morning. We have our usual daily conversation through voice messages before we start the workday. I had mentioned that my daughter desperately wants to go to the beach, and I’ve been trying to figure out a good weekend for my husband and me to take her down to the Outer Banks.

My friend said it feels like a rite of passage for kids to have that beach trip right before school starts. My husband and I are planning to enroll our daughter in pre-K this fall, so the comment really stuck with me.

And then I started thinking about it.

The beach vacation.

My dad was never really the “family beach trip” type, but growing up, we did go occasionally. When he was stationed in Japan, we spent a week in Okinawa. I don’t remember every detail from that trip, but I do remember how beautiful Okinawa was.

More than anything, I remember being together.

My mom didn’t take much leave when I was growing up, so having all of us traveling together felt special. We ate good food, spent time on the beach, and somehow came home with elephant statues that survived several military moves over the years. I should probably ask my dad if they’re still around.

There’s just something about family vacations when you’re a kid. Staying up later than usual, wandering the beach looking for shells and little ocean treasures, sharing meals together, and somehow always finding a really good pancake place nearby.

There are certain moments you don’t realize will stay with you forever until years later.

While I can’t take my daughter to Okinawa for her first beach trip, I hope she remembers the feeling of sand between her toes, the surprise of that first cold wave crashing into her legs, building sandcastles, melting ice cream cones in the summer heat, and of course… the pancakes.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that making memories with your children matters so much more than making everything perfect. It’s the time together they remember most.

Now I’m just looking forward to our little beach trip — whenever we finally get it planned.

Are you taking a family beach trip this year?

Mom and I, this may have been Hawaii