How To Spend A Comp Day: Beach Park, Together

Working through the weekend, away from your kid, is a bummer but I'm at least thankful I get those days comped. On one hand, I want to do nothing on those catch-up relax days; on the other, I want to spend the day doing something special/fun with my kid— seize the opportunity, you know?

One thing about being a mom is that it teaches/trains you to put aside what you want and put ahead what you think might be better for someone else. It's humbling and I'm convinced what makes you a better version of you.

I'm not a beach person. I hate to admit it and wish I was but I find the experience pretty draining. I'm not one to lay in the sun and, if I were to swim, I'd prefer to do so in calm waters. I've been in the ocean before, neck deep, and think it's pretty amazing but being risk-averse I probably wouldn't let myself go so deep again. [Probably, not saying never :>]

At the risk of sounding like a ya-ya (who doesn't love the beach??), why am I saying this? Because my kid loves the sand and the water, essentially what makes up the beach, and I just think it would be 'bad' (whatever that means) to not take her at least sometimes. I was working up the nerve to take her myself all week. Then, at the last minute, she said she wanted to go to the park vs. the beach. Internally, I sighed a relief. As a compromise to myself, though, I took her to this beach park, which had a playground, sand, shoreline, was close by and had easy parking. It ended up being perfect actually. The water was calm, which put me more at ease as I let her explore the water, and she had a great time. I still found it draining— the sun, man— but it was totally worth it. She had a great time (ONE), it was time well spent together (TWO) (in 'nature' or the 'great outdoors' (THREE)), and it allowed her to learn, explore, and run with her imagination (FOUR).

This is the epitome of parenthood— with sacrifice comes huge rewards. You don't have to be a parent to experience this, though. I recognize this comes with all relationships but, as a parent, I think, you're even more driven than ever to go beyond your comfort zone for someone else. I think :>

Now, I tried to limit the number of pics and made improvement by not including all of them but there are still quite a number. Baby steps— don't ask me to go on a photo diet because I actually believe less is less :>

What do YOU do for someone else that takes you out of your comfort zone?

Share in the Comments below, we'd love to hear! :> xoxo

Enjoy! Selected pics below, entire slideshow album at bottom! :>



We grabbed a sweet treat on our way back home... (even though I was with mine all day) :>



And ended our adventure with this awesome homemade meal :>