Sand Castles

I woke up yesterday morning to a pile of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios in my bed. Why? Why was there a pile of sticky, crumbly cereal in my bed? Because RE wanted to build a sand castle. In my bed, with Cheerios. I can only assume she was inspired by something she saw on Sesame Street while I slumbered on the other side of the bed, but in any case, that became a necessary activity for the day.

I really never thought I'd hear myself tell a friend, "RE really wants to build a sand castle, so we need to go to the beach."

Thank goodness we live near the beach!

I totally take it for granted that we live less than 2 miles from a beach. I spent most of my childhood wishing we could live closer to the beach, and spend everyday building castles and digging in the sand, and now that I really can, I don't. Maybe that's why I was so enthusiastic about RE's sudden desire for sand architecture.


She's all of a sudden so creative and fun, and so into building and making things, it's a blast. She loves art stuff and crafty things, and love to help her create fun little projects. My next step is to get her some of those lacing, sewing cards so she can learn to sew. I've thought about just giving her fabric and a needle and thread, but I wonder if 2 and a half is too young and she'll only wind up frustrated. I'm just so struck my her ability to concentrate, and her enjoyment of small, detailed tasks that I want to nurture it. I love to sew and craft and glue and create, and I really want her to as well. I know that's selfish; shoot me.

We're heading off to California in another 10 days, to spend 6 days on the beach in Mendocino for my brother's wedding, and I'm really looking forward to frolicking on the sand, building sand castles and diving into the waves. It's one of my most clear memories of my own childhood, and I can't wait to experience it with RE.