She climbed trees, played in the ocean, watched the sunset from the beach, roasted marshmallows, ran from raccoons, went for a late night walk with a friend to see the stars, "A WHOLE SKY FULL OF THEM MOM!" They could see galaxies, constellations, even saw a shooting star (I love that a shooting star took her breath away). She watched the fog roll in off the ocean and creep through the campground. She listened to the waves crashing on the beach below - even when darkness and fog obscured her view. She saw whales breaching and spouting, dolphins playing, just yards from shore. The whales were so close they were HUGE and frightening and eerrie and beautiful and breathtaking all at the same time. They saw seals and a dead baby dolphin tangled in rope. They saw hundreds and hundreds of sand dollars - whole ones, "You couldn't go five feet without finding a sand dollar!" There were too many for her to bring home. She brought her favorite four - and they are beautiful! She and a couple friends made a giant heart on the beach out of the rest and took a picture. They made sand castles and watched them get washed away by the "Rogue Wave". She found another tree to climb, "The COOLEST ONE YET!", just before they left. She smells of campfire and happiness!
I watched her telling one adventure after another, her eyes bright, her hair pulled up and wild on top of her head, her muscles sore and aching from use. I thought to myself, how glad I am that I'm the one who got to raise her and not my parents. They wouldn't have let her climb a single tree (maybe my mother would have, but never if dad was around and he was in charge), get too close to the water or do anything where she might get dirty. They certainly would not have let her out late at night to stand above a beach just to watch stars!
Sometimes I feel gypped. Guess I still have growing pains.
But I'm soooo happy for her - datsa my GIRL! The kids decided they want to go again, March maybe. Next time they want me to be the parent on board.